*    JUN  231910  *, 


DT35I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/fightingslavehunOOswan 


FIGHTING  THE  SLAVE-HUNTERS 
IN  CENTRAL  AFRICA 


A  Well-kept  Village 

The  native  on  the  left  has  bought  a  new  garment  and  fez,  showing  he  has  adopted  Moham- 
medanism. He  is  carrying  a  ladder  of  the  kind  used  all  over  Africa  for  getting  on  to  huts.  The 
man  on  the  right  is  carrying  a  piece  of  sugar-cane.  A  flat  stone  for  grinding  rice  is  on  the  left. 
F rom  the  tree  the  seed  for  next  year  is  suspended  to  preserve  it  from  rats  and  white  ants. 


*    JUN  23 1910  * 

FIGHTING  THE^.,---^^ 
SLAVE-HUNTERS  IN^ 
CENTRAL  AFRICA 

A  RECORD  OF 
TWENTY-SIX  YEARS  OF  TRAVEL  ^  ADVENTURE 
ROUND  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

AND  OF 

THE  OVERTHROW  OF  TIP-PU-TIB,  RUMALIZA 
AND  OTHER  GREAT  SLAVE-TRADERS 


v' 

ALFRED  J.  SWANN 

Late  Senior  Resident  Magistrate  of  the  Nyasaland  Protectorate 
WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

SIR  H.  H.  JOHNSTON,  G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B. 


With  45  Illustrations  ^  a  Map 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
LONDON  :  SEELEY  AND  CO.  LIMITED 
I910 


Printed  by  Ballanttne,  Hanson  6»  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press,  Edinburgh 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  Africa  about  which  Mr.  Swann  writes — as  I  think, 
with  such  absorbing  interest — has  already  passed  into 
history,  the  history  which  is  least  read  because  it  is  that 
of  yesterday. 

The  conditions  of  East  Africa  twenty-five  to  twenty  years 
ago  are  so  extraordinarily  different  to  the  appearance  and 
conditions  of  life  in  that  region  at  the  present  day,  that  it 
might  ahiiost  be  thought  Mr.  Swann  was  writing  not  of 
experiences  within  the  limit  of  the  life  of  a  man  of  middle 
age,  but  of  some  remoter  period  coeval  with  Livingstone  and 
Cameron.  Indeed,  the  East  Africa  first  seen  by  Mr.  Swann 
(and  by  the  writer  of  this  preface)  was  not  a  whit  changed 
from  the  East  Africa  through  which  Burton,  Speke,  Grant, 
and  Thomson  struggled  to  find  great  lakes,  vaguely  rumoured 
rivers,  and  in  their  quest  first  beheld  many  a  strange  beast 
and  extraordinary  human  tribe  new  to  science. 

We  have  too  easily  and  readily  forgotten  the  East  Africa 

known  to  Livingstone,  and  the  Arab  slave-trade  has  become 

a  vague  legend,  possibly  disbelieved  in  to  a  great  extent  by 

the  somewhat  cynical  white  men  who  now  swarm  over  Tropical 

Africa  and  say  to  us  weary  ones  of  those  pioneer  days:  "I 

can't  see  what  you  beggars  made  such  a  fuss  about.  The 

Arabs  seem  to  me  a  devilish  good  lot  of  people,  quite  easy 

to  get  on  with ;  and  if  they  did  come  down  rather  hard  on 

v 


INTRODUCTION 


the  nigger  for  not  working,  why,  it  was  all  for  the  nigger's 
good.  And  I  don'*t  call  it  half  a  bad  kind  of  country — 
splendid  shooting — why,  I  got  such  and  such  a  bag  in  so 
many  days  with  my  (quoting  the  latest  invention  in  rifles 
and  soft-nosed  or  explosive  bullets).  Talk  of  dying  of  thirst 
in  such  and  such  a  desert !  What  rot !  Why,  there''s  an 
artesian  well  at  the  principal  rest-house,  and  you  can  get 
awfully  good  iced  drinks  and  perfect  lager  beer  at  all  the 
stores  in  Unyamwezi.  Besides,  how  can  you  be  much  bothered 
by  this  particular  piece  of  route  when  you  can  bicycle  sixty 
miles  in  a  day  in  the  dry  season,  to  say  nothing  of  motoring. 
Why  you  should  ever  have  been  ill,  /  can't  think.  .  .  . 
Absolute  pleasure  trip  to  me."    And  so  forth,  and  so  on. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Swann's  book  (which  I  sincerely  hope  may  be 
widely  read)  may  enable  people  who  care  to  follow  closely  the 
history  of  African  development  to  realise  in  the  first  place 
what  the  Arab  slave-trade  was  like,  and  why  it  so  concerned 
the  minds  of  Livingstone,  of  the  early  missionaries,  of  several 
consuls,  and  of  trading  associations  like  the  African  Lakes 
Company,  which  could  not  wholly  divest  themselves  of  human 
feelings. 

Mr.  Swann's  book  will  also  give  you  the  romance  of  East 

Africa  before  it  became  tourist-trodden  and  vulgarised.  This 

quality  is  irrecoverable.    Just  as  the  once  beautiful  English 

scenery  is  passing  away  under  our  eyes  in  favour  of  corrugated 

iron,  paper-strewn  roads  and  lanes,  red-brick  villas,  pollarded 

beeches,  incongruous  rhododendron  shrubberies,  excellent  but 

ugly  factories,  flashy  hotels  in  lieu  of  old-world  inns,  and 

asphalt  esplanades  in  place  of  a  pleistocene  shingle,  so  the 

Africa  of  Mr.  Swann's  days,  with  its  unlimited  and  even 

dangerous  wild  beasts,  its  men  and  women  just  emerging  from 

the  Age  of  Stone,  the  Ny'ika  innocent  of  eucalyptus  groves, 

dense  forests  scarcely  altered  since  the  Miocene,  Man  at  his 

vi 


INTRODUCTION 


most  barbarous  and  most  heroic  (this  last  applies  to  the 
white  pioneers)  has  disappeared  in  favour  of  railways,  motors, 
telegraphs,  negroes  that  are  drilled  in  European  fashion, 
prosperous  mission-schools  and  technical  institutes,  the  bang, 
bang,  bang  of  the  slaughtering  British  sportsman,  the  lisping 
accents  of  the  lady  traveller  who  is  trying  to  write  a  book 
about  Africa  in  a  four  months'  tour  (lapped  in  luxury  as  she 
passes  from  one  hospitable  station  to  another),  the  Africa  of 
the  cinematograph  and  the  gramophone  records,  of  fashion- 
able diplomacy,  highly  trained  administrators,  royal  guests, 
and  banished  malaria. 

Of  course,  the  real  truth  is  that  Africa  is  becoming  more 
interesting  than  ever,  the  problems  more  complex,  the  history 
of  its  past — its  distant  past — better  and  better  known,  the 
condition  of  its  native  inhabitants  far,  far  and  away  happier 
than  in  the  times  of  which  Mr.  Swann  writes. 

His  own  part  in  bringing  about  that  happiness  has  been 

considerable.    He  took  an  even  larger  share  than  he  relates 

(of  his  modesty)  in  curbing  the  Arab  slave-trade  round  about 

the  shores  of  Tanganyika.    He  believed — and  I  think  with 

justification — that  a  British  Protectorate  over  many  of  these 

regions  would  be  of  vast  benefit  to  the  indigenous  people. 

Therefore,  when  I  met  him  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake 

Tanganyika  in  1889,  and  told  him  that  I  was  prevented  by 

serious  complications  in  Nyasaland  from  pursuing  my  original 

plan  of  carrying  the  British  flag  (allied  with  the  necessary 

treaties)  right  through  from  the  north  end  of  Tanganyika 

to  Uganda  (so  as  to  complete  the  Cape-to-Cairo  route),  Mr. 

Swann  agreed,  when  furnished  with  the  necessary  authority, 

to  complete  this  section.    With  the  assistance  of  my  Swahali 

head-man,  Ali   Kiongwe  (who   is  now  living  on   a  small 

Government  pension  at  Zanzibar),  he  completed  the  scope  of 

British  treaties  at  the  north  end  of  Tanganyika,  which,  had 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 

they  been  all  ratified  by  the  British  Government,  would  have 
given  to  the  British  Empire  (without  robbing  anybody  else) 
a  continuous  all-British  route  from  Cape  Colony  to  Egypt, 
on  the  assumption,  of  course,  that  the  waters  of  Tanganyika 
were  free  to  all  nations. 

H.  H.  Johnston. 


viii 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


THE  following  pages  contain  my  recollections  of  twenty- 
six  years  spent  in  Africa.  They  have  been  written  at 
the  repeated  request  of  colleagues  of  various  nationalities, 
with  whom,  in  the  years  1882-1909,  I  travelled  and  laboured 
in  Central  Africa,  co-operating  with  them  in  the  work  of 
undermining,  and  finally  destroying,  the  Slave-Trade  around 
the  great  lakes. 

The  thrilling  stories  of  explorers  and  missionaries  had 
appealed  to  my  natural  love  of  travel  and  adventure,  and  fired 
me  with  an  ambition  to  follow  such  men  as  Livingstone, 
Stanley,  Burton,  Schweinfurth,  and  others,  and  to  help 
in  healing  what  Livingstone  called  "  Africa'*s  open  sore.'** 
When  I  went  out  in  1882  the  great  partition  of  Africa  had 
not  taken  place,  and  the  hideous  trade  was  at  its  worst. 
Caravans  froni  the  interior  brought  thousands  of  slaves  to 
the  East  Coast,  and  left  thousands  dead  upon  the  road. 

Lakes  Nyasa,  Tanganyika,  and  Victoria  Nyanza  were  in  the 
hands  of  Arab  and  native  slave-traders,  and  beyond  a  patrol — 
admittedly  unsatisfactory — of  portions  of  the  East  Coast, 
nothing  much  was  being  done  to  crush  the  accursed  ti'affic 
which  was  eating  out  the  heart  of  Africa.  For  twenty- six 
years  I  was  able  to  take  part  in  the  determined  efforts  for  its 
suppression  which  were  then  made,  and  to  fill  a  place  in  the 
ranks  of  those  African  pioneers  whose  deeds  had  kindled  my 
ambition.  I  earnestly  hope  that  my  experiences  may  bring 
encouragement  to  some  whom  a  love  of  justice  and  liberty  is 
spurring  on  to  fresh  exertions  on  behalf  of  those  tribes  in  Africa 
which  have  not  yet  been  delivered  from  the  curse  of  slavery. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


So  many  years  of  labour  and  anxiety  have  naturally  been 
diversified  by  many  adventures,  both  of  travel  and  sport, 
the  narratives  of  which  may  not,  I  hope,  be  found  unin- 
teresting. 

At  the  close  of  my  career  in  Africa,  I  should  wish  to  place 
on  record  my  great  admiration  for  other  pioneers,  American, 
German,  French,  Belgian,  and  Portuguese,  whom  I  met,  and 
with  whom  I  worked,  and  who  vied  with  my  own  countrymen 
in  a  healthy,  courteous,  and  vigorous  competition  to  advance 
civilisation  in  their  respective  Spheres  of  InflQence. 

All  the  photographs  here  reproduced  are  copyright,  and 
my  grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  owners  for  their 
permission  to  use  them.  In  preparing  these  pages  for  the 
press,  I  have  been  most  ably  assisted  by  Miss  Bennett  of 
Tarring,  Worthing,  without  whose  co-operation  the  task 
would  not  have  been  undertaken,  and  to  whom  sincere  thanks 
are  rendered. 

A.  J.  S. 

Worthing,  Sussex, 
January  1910. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

Arrival  at  Zanzibar — Preparations  for  the  Journey      .  19 

CHAPTER  II 

Porters  and  their  Loads — The  Long  March  to  Lake 
Tanganyika  commenced — An  Amusing  Incident — The 
Charm  of  African  Life — Insight  into  Native  Char- 
acter   .       .       .       .  25 


CHAPTER  III 

^  Cruelties  of  the  Slave-Trade — Major  Von  Wissmann — 
Difficulties  of  the  Road — ''Pay  or  Fight" — Loyal 
Service — A  Narrow  Escape — The  Mighty  Mirambo — 
Native  and  Lion  ........  48 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  Greedy  Ferryman — Fetish — Ujiji  and  Lake  Tanganyika 
--^Livingstone  and  Stanley — A  Whited  Sepulchre — 
Ivory  and  Slaves — Launching  a  Canoe — »The  People 
of  the  Plain       ........  68 


CHAPTER  V 

Opposition  of  the  Natives — Launch  of  the  "  Morning 
Star" — Tip-pu-Tib — The  Lofu  River — Building  a 
Steam  Vessel — A  Tragedy — Rugaruga  Bullies  .       .  81 


CHAPTER  VI 

Fire  and  Sword — A  Sceptical  Native — An  Angry  Hippo- 
potamus— Launch  of  the  "  Good  News  " — Medicine 
AND  Surgery — A  Cruel  Punishment — A  Native  Duel: 
Its  Tragic  Result       .......  98 

xi 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VII 


PAGE 


A  Diplomatic  Scramble — Manna — The  Amambwi — Unplea- 
sant Visitors       .       .       .        .       .       .        .       .    1 15 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Navigating  the  Shire   River — Blantyre — Ramakukane — 

Game  and  Fish — Shupanga  .       .       .       .       .  .135 

CHAPTER  IX 

A  Visit  to  England — A  Sailor's  Blow — Charles  Stokes — 
Germans  and  Arabs — Encounter  with  Masai — V/hite 
Man's  Medicine — Warnings.       .       .       .        .  .150 

CHAPTER  X 

Shooting  Giraffes — A  Cool  Reception — A  Visit  to  Ruma- 
LizA — Tip-pu-TiB — Anger  of  Rumaliza — Hostilities 
Commenced — Congo  State  Officials — Emin  Pasha      .  l67 


CHAPTER  XI 

Captain  Trivier  —  Game  Pits  —  An  Annexation  —  The 
Walungu  Marriage  Customs — ^The  Curse  of  the 
People  185 


CHAPTER  XII 

Making  Treaties — Hunting  the  Hippopotamus — Boiling 
Springs  —  Religious  Views  —  A  Nugget  —  Scenery  of 
Lake  Tanganyika — A  Native  Regatta       .        .       .  203 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  People  of  the  Tanganyika  —  The  Cannibal  —  The 
Warundi — A  Conjurer — The  Fauna  of  the  Rusizi — 
Attacked   by  Leopards — A   Storm  on  the  Lake — 
Swamped      .       .       .        .       .       .       .       .  .221 

xii 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XIV 

I 

Salving  the  Boat — A  Great  Disappointment — Trouble 
WITH  THE  Arabs — A  Mischievous  Monkey — An  Act 
OF  Revenge  .........  t 

CHAPTER  XV 

General  Unrest  —  Storming  Stockades  —  Rumaliza  the 
Slave-Trader 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Potentialities  of  the  African — Suppression  of  raid- 
ing— Children's  Games — -Analysing  the  Native  Char- 
acter .......... 


CHAPTER  XVH 

Big-Game   Hunting  —  A    Wild  Trip  across   Nyasa  —  An 
Eclipse — A  Memorable  Interview  .... 


CHAPTER  XVIH 

Bishop  Maples — Capture  of  Mwasi's  Stronghold — Infantile 
Mortality  ......... 


CHAPTER  XIX 
Wonderful  Industrial  Development  ..... 

CHAPTER  XX 
Traits  of  Character — Resources  of  the  Country 

INDEX  355 


Xlll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


A  Well-Kept  Village  .....  Frontispiece 

PAGB 

The  Author        ........  27 

Porters  Encamped      .......  37 

A  Dug-out  Canoe  51 

A  Method  of  Securing  Slaves    .       .       .       .  .51 

African  Mimicry  ........  63 

In  the  Wake  of  the  Slave-Raiders  ....  63 

Fetish  Idols  71 

An  African  Path  through  High  Grass    .       .  .71 

A  Slave-Dhow    ........  83 

The  **  Morning  Star  "  at  Anchor      ....  83 

A  Cannibal  .....       ....  93 

A  Thorough  Scoundrel      ......  93 

SS.  "Good  News"  103 

Tropical  Creepers  and  an  Elephant  Path        .  .103 

A  Medicine  Man  at  Work        .....  109 

A  Village  in  Making  117 

xiv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 


Aemba  Mutilations     .       .       .       .       .       .  .117 

A  Medicine  Man  125 

A  Pot  of  Beer   ........  125 

A  Game-Trap  131 

Native  Porters  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  131 

A  Village  Belle  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .    1 3,9 

A  Village  in  the  Open  Country       .       .       .  .155 

Pounding  Maize  into  Flour       .       .       .       .  .181 

A  Marriage  Procession      .       .       .       .       .  .195 

Male  and  Female  Fashions  in  Hair-Dressing   .  .199 
Lake  Fishermen  and  Canoes       .....  209 

A  Native  Smelting  Furnace       .       .       .       .  .213 

An  Elaborately  Carved  Pipe     .....  223 

Drying  Fishing  Nets  above  the  Sand  .  .  .  223 
Blacksmiths  at  Work  .......  227 

Elaborately  Carved  Drums  251 

Head-dress  of  Aemba  Girl  ......  257 

A  Typical  African  Stockade      .....  263 

Gathering  Honey       .......  267 

Girls  at  Play     ........  285 

Brick  Making  285 

Masterly  Inactivity   .......  293 

WicKERWoRK  Baskets  for  Catching  Fish    .       .       .  305 

XV 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Building  a  Fort  ........  325 

A  Beautiful  Native-built  Cathedral         .       .       .  325 
Basket-Work       ........  335 

The  Dawn  of  Civilisation  ......  335 

Death  in  the  Family  .......  345 


xvi 


BRITISH   CENTRAL  AND   EAST  AFRICA 


■■       V,   o" 

C.   E  K  M  AN 


FIGHTING  THE  SLAYE-HUNTEHS 
IN  CENTRAL  AFRICA 


CHAPTER  I 

Arrival  at  Zanzibar — Preparations  for  the  Journey 

"Who  will  Volunteer  for  Central  Africa?" 

IT  was  in  May,  1882,  that  I  read  the  above  words  in  a 
journal  published  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Sailors' 
Society.  The  question  was  addressed  to  the  public  by 
Captain  Hore  of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  He  was 
about  to  proceed  to  Lake  Tanganyika  with  a  steel  life-boat, 
which  he  intended  to  transport  in  sections  through  East  Africa, 
on  carts  specially  constructed  for  so  great  an  undertaking  ;  for 
it  is  820  miles  from  the  coast  to  Lake  Tanganyika.  There 
are  no  roads,  and  the  native  paths  leading  from  village  to 
village  are  too  narrow  for  carts.  However,  it  was  not  my 
business  to  question  the  Captain's  ability  to  overcome  the 
innumerable  difficulties  familiar  to  any  one  acquainted  with  the 
writings  of  Livingstone  and  Stanley.  My  work  was  to  respond 
to  the  appeal  if  I  wanted  to  take  a  hand  in  the  opening  up  of 
this  part  of  Africa.  Applicants  were  required  to  possess  a 
Board  of  Trade  certificate  as  chief  officer  in  the  Mercantile 
Marine,  and  to  be  willing  to  submit  to  an  examination  before 
the  rather  formidable  Board  of  Directors  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society. 

Having  spent  twelve  years  at  sea  on  both  steam  and  sailing 
vessels,  and  possessing  the  necessary  certificate,  I  at  once  wrote 

19  B 


ARRIVAL  AT  ZANZIBAR 


and  offered  my  services.  In  due  course  they  were  accepted  by 
the  Society,  and  I  was  appointed  second  in  command  of  the 
expedition  to  Lake  Tanganyika;  afterwards  to  act  as  chief 
officer  in  the  marine  department  which  we  were  going  to 
establish  on  the  Lake. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  had  received  a  large  dona- 
tion from  a  supporter  for  the  express  purpose  of  commencing 
mission  work  around  the  great  Lake.  As  the  undertaking  was 
certain  to  be  an  expensive  one,  it  was  decided  to  utilise  the 
more  economical  transport  by  water  in  order  to  get  into  close 
contact  with  the  tribes  living  along  a  coast  line  of  900  to  1000 
miles. 

Our  expedition  was  organised  to  enable  the  Society  to  occupy 
these  regions.  Captain  Hore  and  myself  were  instructed  to 
transport  the  small  life-boat  and  to  build  the  S.S.  Good  News 
as  soon  as  it  could  be  sent  to  us;  to  survey  the  Lake,  and 
to  organise  and  maintain  a  regular  mail  service  between 
the  Mission  Stations  and  Zanzibar.  Captain  Hore  did  not 
scruple  to  place  before  me  the  pros  and  cons  of  travelling  in 
Africa. 

I  had  but  a  vague  idea  of  the  Interior.  In  one^s  schooldays 
the  lessons  on  geography  (when  they  happened  to  be  about 
Africa)  were  illustrated  by  a  camel,  a  palm  tree,  mountains  of 
the  moon  (whatever  they  might  be  no  one  seemed  to  know), 
with  the  Nile,  Zambezi,  and  Congo  Rivers,  vaguely  depicted  as 
rising  somewhere  in  the  heart  of  the  great  L^nknown.  Living- 
stone, Stanley,  and  others  had,  on  the  part  of  Britain  and 
America,  made  known  to  us  the  great  facts  that  the  In- 
terior was  not  a  desert,  but  inhabited  by  a  large  population 
of  coloured  people — some  more  or  less  hostile  to  Europeans, 
but  the  majority  quite  ready  to  respond  to  civil  treatment 
by  strangers. 

The  great  partition  of  Africa  by  the  European  Powers  had 
not  yet  taken  place,  and  not  one  of  the  now  great  Protectorates 
of  East  Africa,  Uganda,  and  Nyasaland  had  become  a  part  of 

20 


ARRIVAL  AT  ZANZIBAR 


the  British  Empire.  The  whole  of  the  East  Coast  and  the 
Interior  was  either  in  the  hands  of  native  chiefs,  Arabs,  or 
Marima  half-castes  who  had  all  one  object,  and  whose  ambition 
was  to  sell  and  transport  to  the  coast  as  many  of  the 
inhabitants  as  they  could  possibly  capture.  It  is  true  that 
commanders  of  British  gunboats  and  British  officials  at 
Zanzibar  did  their  utmost,  with  the  limited  powers  at  their 
command,  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar, 
and  to  check  the  slave  trade  at  the  coast ;  but  none  knew 
better  than  themselves  how  inadequate  were  their  combined 
efforts.  At  best  they  only  touched  the  very  fringe  of  the 
disease,  which  had  its  ramifications  all  over  Equatorial  Africa, 
and  its  great  centres  far  away  up-country  at  Tabora,  Ujiji, 
Uganda,  Kotakota,  and  the  Upper  Congo. 

My  youthful  enthusiasm  had  been  fired  when  I  learned  the 
facts  of  slavery  as  set  forth  with  noble  humanity  by  Living- 
stone, with  manly  disgust  by  Stanley,  and  pathetic  emphasis 
by  the  author  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,""  and  I  resolved,  if 
ever  the  opportunity  offered,  to  join  with  niy  countrymen  in 
an  endeavour  to  crush  the  slave-trade. 

My  chance  had  arrived,  and  May  17,  1882,  found  me  on 
board  a  British-India  Company's  vessel  bound  for  Africa.  It 
was  in  October  of  this  year  that  Mr.  (now  Sir)  Harry  Johnston 
first  visited  the  Congo,  and  practically  commenced  his  long 
and  well-known  African  career.  Little  did  I  imagine  how  very 
much  we  should  be  thrown  together  in  after  years,  or  that 
I  should  be  privileged  to  take  part  in  his  successful  adminis- 
tration of  Nyasaland. 

Stirring  events  were  taking  place  in  North  Africa  as  we 
passed  through  the  canal,  for  preparations  were  being  made  to 
bombard  Alexandria;  the  great  men-of-war,  like  huge  birds 
of  prey,  were  circling  around  the  entrance  to  the  Suez  Canal. 
We  luckily  passed  through  before  the  actual  firing  of  the 
80-ton  guns  of  H.M.S.  Inflexible  began ;  both  ship  and  guns 
are  now  practically  obsolete. 

91 


ARRIVAL  AT  ZANZIBAR 

IVIy  fellow-passengers  included  Bishop  Hannington,  Ashe, 
and  Gordon  of  Uganda,  each  of  them  destined  to  play  so 
conspicuous  a  part  in  opening  up  Uganda  to  civilisation. 
How  well  I  recall  Hannington !  His  delightfully  buoyant 
spirits  and  optimistic  character  made  all  on  board  happy.  I 
little  thought,  as  we  played  at  chess  together,  that  those  eyes, 
then  so  full  of  laughter,  would  soon  be  dimmed  by  tears  shed, 
not  for  himself,  but  for  those  very  Africans  to  whose  benefit 
he  had  determined  to  devote  his  life  and  who,  in  their  ignor- 
ance, so  cruelly  imprisoned  and  murdered  him.  Such  are  the 
perils  to  which  the  pioneers  of  civilisation  are  exposed  in  a 
land  of  superstition,  ignorance,  and  savagery,  that  not  even 
the  attractive  qualities  of  Hannington  could  save  him  from  a 
fate  which  has  for  ever  stained  the  throne  of  Uganda,  by  the 
sacrifice  of  one  who  would  have  been  her  best  friend  and 
champion.  The  Buganda  have  long  since  realised  the  great 
crime  committed  by  their  king.  Tens  of  thousands  of  her  sons 
and  daughters  are  to-day  endeavouring  to  lead  lives  which  the 
great  martyred  missionary  would  have  blessed. 

In  addition  to  the  Church  of  England  missionaries,  there 
were  on  board  several  belonging  to  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  most  of  whom  ultimately  lost  their  lives  in  the  Interior 
by  disease,  which  has  taken  such  a  heavy  toll  amongst  the 
ranks  of  pioneers. 

One  other  of  our  company  met  a  violent  death  during  the 
great  struggle  between  European  and  Arab  for  predominance 
in  Africa.  This  struggle  was  about  to  commence  in  real 
earnest  when  we  arrived  at  Zanzibar  in  June  1882.  Wild  as 
our  project  appeared  to  many  residing  in  Zanzibar,  who 
frankly  told  us  we  should  never  tramp  that  820  miles  to 
Tanganyika,  much  less  drag  on  wheels  our  steel  life-boat 
through  roadless  forests  and  plains,  yet  Mrs.  Hore,  who 
had  determined  to  accompany  her  husband,  was  not  to  be 
frightened  ;  she  declared  that  wherever  it  was  prudent  for  her 
husband  to  go,  she  saw  no  reason  why  she  should  be  considered 

22 


ARRIVAL  AT  ZANZIBAR 


unfit  to  accompany  him.  Brave  words  indeed — but  braver 
deeds  followed  their  utterance;  for  her  patient,  tactful  per- 
severance never  failed  through  innumerable  trials,  incon- 
veniences, dangers,  and  sickness,  and  this  brave  Englishwoman 
will  be  remembered  as  the  first  woman  to  make  that  wonderful 
journey  in  Africa,  and  with  her  little  son  to  reach  the  historic 
shores  of  far-away  Tanganyika. 

It  was  at  Zanzibar  I  first  realised  that  Great  Britain 
was  doing  all  she  could  to  undermine  the  cruel  slave-trade. 
Although  our  eyes  beheld  men  and  women  in  chain-gangs 
walking  and  working  on  the  public  roads,  we  knew  that  they 
were  not  slaves,  but  in  reality  criminals  who,  for  various 
offences,  were  being  punished  in  this  manner;  and  that  in 
such  a  hot  climate  it  was  by  far  the  most  sanitary  method  of 
dealing  with  prisoners,  as  they  were  permitted  to  enjoy  the 
open  air  and  good  exercise.  Still,  the  sight  of  human  beings 
in  neck-chains  was,  to  say  the  least,  repulsive  to  every  one  of 
us  who,  no  doubt,  were  too  full  of  our  mission  of  emancipation 
to  be  capable  of  impartially  analysing  the  local  conditions 
which  influenced  the  rulers  of  this  eastern  island. 

Zanzibar  has  been  described  so  often  that  I  will  not  weary 
the  reader  by  entering  into  details,  except  to  say  that,  so  far 
as  slavery  was  concerned,  although  it  was  not  a  legalised 
custom  to  buy  and  sell  slaves  in  the  open  market,  yet  thousands 
were  undoubtedly  bought  and  sold  both  at  Zanzibar  and  on 
the  East  Coast.  In  fact,  during  our  stay  on  the  island,  a 
pirmace  of  H.M.S.  London  (which  was  then  the  Port  guard- 
ship)  cut  out  and  captured  as  a  prize  a  large  slave-dhow  which 
had  anchored  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  British  Consulate — 
so  daring  were  the  Arabs  at  this  exceedingly  profitable  game. 

We  found  Sir  John  Kirk  pulling  the  strings  of  British 
policy  at  Zanzibar,  and  so  deftly  were  they  handled  that  not 
only  was  legalised  slavery  in  the  Sultan's  dominion  successfully 
suppressed,  but  the  valuable  island  was  prevented  from  passing 
into  the  hands  of  other  Powers. 

23 


ARRIVAL  AT  ZANZIBAR 


We  heard  much  criticism  of  the  manner  in  which  Sir  John 
attacked  the  curse  of  Africa ;  but  people  did  not  then  realise 
as  they  do  now  that,  unless  the  matter  had  been  handled  with 
great  skill,  the  astute  Arabs,  with  their  natural  love  of  intrigue 
and  avarice,  might  at  any  moment  have  foiled  all  Sir  John*'s 
attempts  to  get  our  flag  established  on  the  island,  and  that 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  the  Sultan  handing  over  his 
dominions  to  another  Power. 

W e  were  initiated  into  some  of  the  delicate  phases  of  this 
political  game,  and  thus  somewhat  put  on  our  guard  and 
prepared  for  dealing  with  the  powerful  Arab  lieutenants  of 
the  Sultan  who  reigned  supreme  in  those  regions,  far  away 
from  either  British  diplomacy  or  British  guns,  to  which  we 
were  proceeding.  In  the  midst  of  their  vile  operations  it  was 
our  fixed  determination  to  live,  and,  in  time,  to  undermine  or 
destroy  their  diabolical  trade  in  human  souls  and  bodies. 
Looking  back  after  a  long  struggle  with  the  Arabs  I  can 
understand  and  appreciate  the  enormous  difficulties  Sir  John 
Kirk  had  to  overcome,  and  I  can  now  measure  more  accurately 
the  services  rendered  to  the  Empire  by  the  astute  British 
representative  at  the  Sultan's  Court  in  those  early  days. 

We  found  real  empire-building  in  progress  at  the  coast. 
To  lay  foundations  for  more  work  of  the  kind  at  the  sources 
of  the  slave-trade  around  the  great  lakes  of  the  Interior  was 
our  earnest  intention.  It  was  our  greatest  slimulus  and  sup- 
port to  know  that  behind  us  was  the  man  who  had  been  a 
close  companion  in  travel  of  the  immortal  Livingstone.  No 
one  realises  better  than  myself,  that  it  is  upon  Sir  John's 
solid  foundations  that  much  of  the  present  magnificent  super- 
structure has  been  erected. 

There  was  little  time  for  indulging  in  sentiment,  no 
inclination  on  any  one's  part  either  to  exaggerate  the  task 
before  us  or  to  minimise  its  difficulties.  Whilst  engaged  in 
the  difficulties  of  preparing  for  a  three  months'  tramp  through 
a  more  or   less   rough  country,  one  became  unconsciously 

24 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


impregnated  with  ideas  of  caravan  life.  Our  days  were  spent 
in  packing  and  repacking  all  kinds  of  collapsible  utensils,  too 
often  omitting  from  our  calculations  the  stern  fact  that  it 
was  not  upon  railway  trucks  our  boxes  were  to  be  transported, 
and  therefore  we  must  not  think  it  of  no  consequence  how 
heavy  they  weighed  ;  for  black  men  would  have  to  plod  along 
day  by  day  through  dense  grass,  over  mountains,  through  rivers 
and  swamps,  with  all  these  precious  loads  on  their  heads. 

Our  keen-eyed  leader  was  not  slow  to  bring  us  to  our 
senses  by  quietly  asking  us  to  try  the  weight  ourselves. 

It  has  been  said,  and  with  great  truth,  that  one  cannot 
spend  too  much  time  in  the  careful  preparation  for  a  long 
African  journey,  for  so  many  valuable  lives  have  been  lost  for 
want  of  real  necessaries. 

The  most  difficult  matter  to  us  seemed  to  be  to  solve  the 
problem  of  carrying  our  cash,  as  in  this  instance  it  meant  not 
really  cash  (which  of  course  was  of  no  use  to  Central  Africans !) 
but  calico,  beads,  brass,  wire,  salt,  &c.  &c. 

We  found  it  would  be  necessary  to  supply  each  porter 
with  two  yards  of  unbleached  calico  per  week  in  order  that 
he  might  buy  food.  Now,  considering  that  we  had  to  engage 
about  nine  hundred  porters,  and  that  we  should  be  at  least 
three  months  on  the  journey,  it  will  be  obvious  that  the 
commissariat  for  the  men  alone  amounted  to  a  considerable 
sum,  and  must  form  a  large  number  of  loads,  each  weighing 
60  lbs.,  which  is  about  the  full  load  a  man  can  carry  over  a 
long  distance,  although  the  Wanyamwezi  will  often  carry 
75  lbs.  of  dead  weight.  It  is  astonishing  how  they  do  it  day 
after  day — plodding  on  apparently  without  undue  exhaustion 
under  the  tropical  sun.  In  addition  to  this  formidable  equip- 
ment, we  had  to  convey  a  year's  provisions  and  the  Moming 
Star  life-boat.  This,  being  built  of  steel,  was  divided  into 
sections  and  laid  bottom  upwards  on  specially  constructed 
hand-carts,  light  and  yet  strong,  made  narrow  in  order  to 
minimise  the  cutting  down  of  trees. 

25 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


As  the  Captain  and  myself  were  sailors  by  profession,  we 
naturally  considered  there  was  nothing  like  good  rope  for  wear 
and  tear,  and  we  forthwith  spliced  sets  of  harness  to  fit  three 
men  to  drag  the  carts,  one  man  being  in  the  shafts.  The  first 
touch  of  African  humour  enlivened  us  here,  as  we  harnessed 
our  team  of  men  for  a  trial  run.  They  were  standing  ready 
to  move  on  with  the  yokes  around  their  necks  when  a  wag, 
who  was  in  the  shafts,  turned  towards  the  crowd  of  onlookers 
and,  without  a  smile  on  his  countenance,  exclaimed :  "  Kweri ; 
sasa  mimi  Punda,""  or,  as  we  should  put  it,  "  Yes !  there  is  no 
mistake  about  it,  I  am  a  donkey  at  last ! "  The  whole  of  us 
burst  into  fits  of  laughter ;  whilst  the  little  black  urchins,  who 
had  assembled  to  see  the  fun,  rolled  over  and  over  in  the  sandy 
soil,  imitating  the  well-known  laughter  of  our  four-footed 
friends. 

I  could  see  by  the  man's  face  in  the  shafts  that  the  ludicrous 
situation  in  which  he  found  himself  had  suddenly  dawned  on 
his  mind ;  but,  beyond  the  above  exclamation,  he  was  like  the 
costermonger  who  had  "  no  words  for  it.'*''  To  one  totally 
unacquainted  with  African  porters  and  travel  as  I  was,  nearly 
the  whole  of  our  preliminaries  at  Zanzibar  were,  to  say  the 
least,  extremely  novel  as  well  as  fascinating.  Those  Europeans 
who  to-day  land  at  Mombasa,  purchase  a  railway-ticket,  tip 
a  porter,  and  jump  into  an  express  train  for  Uganda  with 
scarcety  a  thought  about  their  huge  packages  which  are  swung 
by  cranes  on  to  the  trucks  in  the  rear,  will  scarcely  realise 
what  it  meant  to  start  on  such  a  journey  then.  I  can  even 
now  see  the  energetic  Hannington  literally  jumping  on  the 
contents  of  his  box,  so  as  to  compel  it  to  go  into  a  space  which 
his  mathematical  mind  could  have  easily  proved  with  a  few 
figures  to  be  a  physical  impossibility.  One  could  hear  the 
various  Europeans  addressing  to  themselves  such  questions  as 
the  following: — 

"  Must  I  really  shave  ?  No !  I  can  leave  this  dressing- 
case  and  use  a  waterproof  bag  ! " 

26 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


"  Boots  ?  Ah !  must  have  good  boots,  but  those  gaiters 
are  not  necessary." 

"  Happy  man  !  "  says  the  transport  agent.  "  I  hope  you 
may  never  want  them ;  but  don't  load  yourself  up  with  that 
huge  book  !    Why,  it  must  weigh  several  pounds." 

"  What  is  it  ?  Oh  !  I  must  take  it,  even  if  I  have  to  carry 
it  myself.    It's  a  lot  of  back  numbers  of  Punch!''' 

A  roar  of  laughter  went  up  from  his  comrades.  One  more 
grave  than  the  rest  suggested  that  "  only  light  and  necessary 
articles  ought  to  be  carried." 

"  I  don't  care,"  replied  the  owner.  "  I  contend  that  Punch 
is  exceedingly  light  and  trifling,'''' 

With  this  appropriate  repartee  the  British  Jester  was 
jammed  into  the  box ;  and  as  I  think  of  isolated  camps,  lonely 
voyages,  bitter  disappointments,  intense  longings  to  hear  my 
own  native  tongue  and  to  see  a  happy  civilised  face,  I  know 
the  young  pioneer  was  right,  and  that  he  had  packed  the  best 
literary  tonic,  one  which  has  hundreds  of  times  brought  me 
back  to  my  own  land,  and  lifted  me  out  of  that  desponding 
state  into  which  frequent  attacks  of  malaria  are  at  times  apt 
to  plunge  the  most  hardened  traveller  in  the  Tropics.  What 
I  have  just  said  will  serve  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  in  those 
days  every  pound  of  weight  had  to  be  studied,  as,  besides  the 
actual  expense  of  porterage,  the  number  of  men  had  to  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  seeing  that  for  three  months  we  had 
to  be  responsible  for  their  food,  at  times  no  little  tax  on  the 
meagre  resources  of  the  small  native  villages,  in  places  many 
miles  distant  from  one  another.  The  first  great  disappoint- 
ment came  to  us  as  we  learned  that  part  of  our  vessel  had 
been  left  at  Aden,  and  at  least  one  month  must  elapse  before 
the  next  British-India  vessel  was  due.  However,  as  our  party 
consisted  of  missionaries  proceeding  to  stations  up-country, 
and  as  it  was  only  possible  to  travel  in  the  dry  season,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  make  a  start  at  once,  and  the  sailors. 
Captain  Hore  and  myself,  could  "  come  back  from  Mamboia," 

29 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


which  was  said  to  be  about  160  miles  inland,  and  at  that  time 
in  charge  of  a  missionary  and  his  wife. 

"  Come  back  again  ?  "  I  replied,  as  I  heard  the  decision. 

"  Don't  come  back  !  some  one  shouted  to  me  years  before, 
in  London,  as  I  went  out  to  face  the  Board  of  Trade  Examiner 
at  Tower  Hill.  I  was  returning  at  the  time,  having  forgotten 
something  in  my  excitement.  "  It's  unlucky,''  he  continued, 
"  to  come  back." 

Was  this  coming  back  a  good  or  bad  omen  ?  I  experienced 
neither  good  nor  bad  luck  at  Tower  Hill ;  but  a  very  salt  old 
sea-captain  of  the  Black  Ball  Line  very  nuich  impressed  me 
with  the  stern  fact  that  a  practical  knowledge  of  duty  was 
the  only  passport  to  success,  and,  having  succeeded  in  that 
instance,  I  had  no  dread  of  ill-luck  on  the  present  occasion. 
The  eventful  morning  arrived  when,  with  the  hundreds  of 
black  porters  and  our  baggage,  we  were  packed  into  large 
dhows  (vessels  used  for  carrying  slaves  and  merchandise), 
somewhat  like  herrings  in  a  barrel,  and  so  parted  from  the 
scene  of  our  first  contact  with  Arabs  and  slavery. 

British  officers  on  the  deck  of  H.M.S.  London  gave  us  a 
polite  salute,  and  a  Jack  Tar  standing  forward  shouted,  "  So 
long ! "  The  old  and  to  me  familiar  send-off  of  that  British 
sailor  was  very  cheering,  and,  as  we  sailed  past  the  great  ship, 
we  returned  the  salute  almost  under  the  shadow  of  the  St. 
George's  ensign  which  floated  proudly  from  her  stern.  One 
of  my  comrades  asked : 

"  What  does  '  so  long '  mean  ?  " 

I  replied :  It  is  used  by  sailors,  and  means,  '  Until  w^e 
meet  again.'" 

"  What  a  strange  expression !  "  he  said.  "  It  seems  to 
imply  a  certainty  of  meeting." 

My  mind  was  too  full  of  the  actual  going  to  dwell  on  the 
possibilities  of  coming  back  ;  but  the  eyes  of  the  questioner 
were  then  gazing  for  the  last  time  on  the  Naval  Flag  of 
Britain.    Even  at  that  moment  he  was  almost  within  sight  of 

30 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


the  spot  where  years  afterwards,  when  returning  home  and 
ahnost  out  of  Africa,  he  fell  mortally  wounded,  shot  by  a 
treacherous  half-caste  Arab.  At  the  time  of  addressing  the 
question  to  me  he  was  surrounded  by  comrades ;  at  his  death 
he  was  alone,  and  Africa  never  so  much  as  provided  him  with 
a  grave. 

"  So  long  ! 

I  hear  that  sailor''s  voice  even  now ;  it  was  almost  like  a 
requiem  over  no  less  than  three  others  of  my  comrades,  who, 
sitting  by  my  side  at  that  moment,  had  their  faces  towards 
their  last  resting-place  in  Africa. 

The  old  dhow  took  but  a  few  hours  to  cross  the  25-mile 
strip  of  water  which  separates  Zanzibar  from  the  mainland, 
and,  running  close  into  the  shore,  we  dropped  anchor. 

"  Rukeni !  Rukeni  majina  upesi !  ^'  cried  the  Suahili  cap- 
tain. "  Jump  quickly  into  the  water,  all  of  you  ! and  if  you 
can  picture  two  or  three  hundred  schoolboys  tumbling  out 
of  a  London  barge  into  the  Thames  on  a  sunny  day,  you  have 
a  fairly  good  idea  of  our  porters  landing  for  their  820-mile 
tramp,  knowing  they  had  each  to  carry  on  their  heads  a  load 
weighing  60  lbs. 

Yet  every  man  of  them  was  a  slave,  even  the  head-men 
were  slaves,  and  part  of  their  three-months'*  advanced  wages 
had  already  gone  into  the  hands  of  their  masters  at  Zanzibar. 
They  were  just  a  merry,  happy  lot  of  laughter-loving  grown- 
up boys — no  care,  no  thought  of  the  morrow,  no  repining  at 
their  lot  ! 

"  Come-a-day,  go-a-day,  God-send-Sunday,"  was  their  for- 
mula and  rule  of  life,  and  experience  has  revealed  to  me  that 
these  words  accurately  describe  the  outstanding  natural  charac- 
teristics of  coloured  races  in  Central  Africa.  These  romping, 
excitable  men,  gambolling  in  the  sea  around  the  old  Arab 
dhow,  with  no  worldly  possessions  beyond  a  yard  or  two  of 
calico,  had  engaged  to  transport  "  white  men "  through  a 
country  quite  unknown  to  many  of  them,  though  they  knew 

31 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


from  those  who  had  previously  travelled  that  there  were  many 
real  hardships  and  dangers  to  be  encountered  before  reaching 
Lake  Tanganyika. 

As  I  tried  to  realise  what  this  meant,  what  a  demonstration 
it  afforded  of  loyal  service  of  black  to  white  men,  I  could  only 
hope  that  no  want  of  patience,  knowledge,  or  tact  on  our  part 
might  have  the  effect  of  jeopardising  the  realisation  of  what 
at  times  appeared  but  a  dream. 

Dreams,  however,  had  to  give  place  to  solid  hard  work  in  the 
shape  of  tent-pitching,  stacking  of  loads,  preparing  to  pass  the 
first  night  in  camp  not  far  from  the  calm  water  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  what  was  still  more  necessary,  providing  and  cooking 
our  own  dinner.  We  Avere  to  shift  for  ourselves  at  last,  with 
state  cabins,  stewards,  and  general  luxury  a  thing  of  the  past — 
"  outward  bound,"  as  sailors  call  it — and  if  we  were  ever  to  see 
the  waters  of  distant  Tanganyika  one  thing  was  essential,  we 
must  not  make  martyrs  of  ourselves,  not  even  for  Africans.  We 
must  take  every  reasonable  precaution  against  malaria,  and 
above  all  attend  most  scrupulously  to  our  diet,  and  not  only  live 
on  the  best  food  to  be  procured  in  the  country,  but  make 
ample  use  of  those  proved  digestible  foods  which  science  has 
enabled  us  to  bring  in  metal  tins.  I  say  without  hesitation 
that  a  missionary  or  traveller  who  fails  to  live  as  well  as 
possible  whilst  exposed  to  the  tropical  sun  and  malaria  is 
certain  to  become  prematurely  a  most  expensive,  if  not  alto- 
gether useless,  servant  to  any  government  or  philanthropical 
society.  And,  even  with  every  precaution,  none  wholly  escape ; 
whilst  many  fall  victims  to  the  deadly  microbes  now  known  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  human  blood  by  a  species  of  mosquito. 

We  w^ere  soon  initiated  into  the  art  of  making  our  tents 
comfortable,  and,  as  the  sun  disappeared  behind  some  lofty 
cocoa-nut  palm  trees,  insect  life  swarmed  out  to  enjoy  the 
cool  air.  Then  commenced  those  choruses  of  sounds  from 
pool,  bush,  and  tall  rank  grasses,  which  never  cease  to 
serenade  African  travellers  from  sunset  to  sunrise. 

32 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


Mosquitoes  in  great  numbers  were  buzzing  around  our  ears, 
stinging  the  ankles  (a  favourite  spot),  neck,  face,  and  hands. 
At  first  we  tried  to  pass  the  whole  thing  off  as  a  joke,  or 
at  most  a  temporary  annoyance ;  but  first  one,  then  another, 
European  had  business  in  his  tent,  until  all  were  found 
safely  in  bed  under  their  mosquito-curtains.  At  that  time 
it  was  generally  thought  the  deadly  malaria  was  more  or 
less  contained  in'stagnant  pools  underneath  decaying  vegetation, 
or  closely  connected  with  tall  rank  grasses.  The  mosquito  was 
not  suspected  by  us  of  being  the  direct  channel  through  which 
the  poison  entered  our  blood,  hence  our  attention  was  directed 
towards  avoiding  the  supposed  malarial  deposits,  and  the 
mosquito  evaded  simply  because  it  was  a  persistent  nuisance. 
We  have  travelled  far  since  then,  with  the  assistance  of 
science,  and  know  it  is  one  of  the  species  of  mosquito 
which  injects  the  malaria-microbe  into  the  blood  as  it 
inserts  its  proboscis  through  the  skin. 

I  lay  awake  that  first  night  listening  to  the  hoarse 
croaking  of  the  bull-frog,  and  to  myriads  of  insects  I  had 
never  seen,  which  kept  up  a  perpetual  humming  sound  both 
inside  and  outside  my  tent. 

The  Indian  Ocean  joined  in  the  lullaby  as  its  waves 
broke  on  the  sand,  whilst  I  could  hear  in  the  distance  the 
never-ceasing  hum  of  our  porters"*  voices  which  now  and 
then  broke  forth  into  rollicking  choruses;  but  the  refrain 
was,  of  course,  quite  unintelligible  to  me  at  that  time. 
Later  on,  as  I  became  acquainted  with  the  language  they 
spoke,  I  realised  that  my  ignorance  at  the  coast  had  not 
caused  me  to  lose  anything  of  an  edifying  nature. 

My  own  private  servants  were  sitting  around  an  open 
fire  not  far  away  from  the  tent,  one  playing  a  stringed 
instrument;  its  soothing  and  seemingly  pathetic  appeals 
were  at  intervals  answered  by  the  player's  voice,  and,  in 
perfect  time  and  harmony,  one  after  another  of  his  companions 
joined  in  the  song,  each  taking  a  separate  part.    After  a 

33 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  JOURNEY 


slight  pause  the  wailing  string  issued  its  final  appeal,  and 
the  whole  of  the  singers  mingled  their  voices  in  a  chorus 
which,  if  it  was  not  of  a  classical  nature,  was  delightfully 
soothing  to  one  who  had  just  taken  leave  of  the  busy, 
bustling,  civilised  world  of  humanity,  and  was  being  hushed 
to  sleep  for  the  first  time  in  the  land  where 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn," 


34 


CHAPTER  II 


Porters  and  their  Loads — The  Long  March  to  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika   COMMENCED  An    AmUSING    INCIDENT  ThE  ChARM 

of  African  Life — Insight  into  Native  Character. 

OL^R  first  morning  in  Africa  was  ushered  in  by  a 
pleasant  bugle-call,  and  the  camp  at  once  presented 
a  busy  scene.  The  morning  mists  still  hung  like 
a  soft  mantle  a  few  feet  above  the  long  low  seashore,  whilst 
the  high  grasses  provided  a  shower-bath  of  glistening  dew- 
drops  for  the  early  traveller  who  was  compelled  to  tramp  along 
the  narrow  footpaths. 

Black  boys  who  had  elected  to  serve  as  our  personal 
attendants  brought  water  for  the  morning  toilet,  whilst  the 
porters  stood  ready  for  the  word  of  command  to  seize  each 
his  particular  load. 

It  was  a  sight  not  easily  to  be  forgotten. 
Babel  but  faintly  describes  the  howling  of  that  half- 
civilised  crowd  as,  with  strained  countenances,  they  scanned 
the  pile  of  miscellaneous  packages ;  each  man  mentally 
appropriating  to  himself  the  smallest,  softest,  and  what  he 
judged  the  lightest  load.  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind 
that  a  mistake  at  this  first  selection  of  loads  would  certainly 
mean  a  tremendous  addition  to  the  ordinary  physical  strain 
of  carrying  such  a  burden  for  three  months ;  an  awkward 
load,  or  even  one  extra  pound  of  weight,  might  not  only 
cause  painful  sores  on  either  head  or  shoulders,  but  so  handicap 
the  bearer  as  to  make  his  pace  the  slowest  in  the  caravan ;  and 
dragging  wearily  along,  far  in  the  rear  of  his  more  fortunate 
companions,  he  would  finally  either  throw  away  his  load  out 

of  sheer  inability  to  carry  it  into  camp,  or  be  murdered  for 

35 


PORTERS  AND  THEIR  LOADS 


the  sake  of  its  intrinsic  value  by  those  villains  who,  being 
too  idle  to  work,  infest  certain  uninhabited  portions  of  the 
track,  shooting  down  the  lonely  and  tired  porter. 

These  possible  dangers  were  well  known  to  all  that  crowd 
of  black  humanity;  hence,  when  their  head-men  could  no 
longer  control  them,  they  hurled  themselves  en  masse  on  the 
prepared  burdens,  and  not  a  few  unparliamentary  disputes 
followed  over  the  possession  of  those  little  handy  bales  of 
calico  which  fit  so  softly  on  the  head,  and  are  of  course  the 
ideal  load  to  carry. 

However,  beyond  having  to  separate  couples  who  were 
evidently  training  themselves  in  the  manly  art  of  self-defence, 
we  were  not  seriously  annoyed  by  this  rather  boisterous 
"jump  ofF'^  of  our  noisy  crew.  I  would  have  given  a  great 
deal  at  that  time  to  have  understood  the  sallies  of  repartee 
which  passed  between  the  smiling  possessor  of  a  neat  package 
and  the  burly  black  who  had  for  his  daily  companion  a  hard 
box,  which  in  his  mind  he  was  doubtless  determining  to 
exchange,  at  the  first  opportunity,  at  the  expense  of  a  com- 
panion. I  could  only  stand  amongst  these  half-wild  children 
of  the  sun  and  admire  the  pluck  and  strength  which  they 
possessed,  enabling  them  so  merrily  to  commence  a  task  which 
no  white  man  could  possibly  have  undertaken  in  this  tropical 
division  of  the  world. 

It  being  barely  8  a.m.,  the  sun  was  not  yet  high  enough 
to  cause  us  inconvenience  when  we  were  ready  to  commence 
our  long  journey.  The  black  races  are  early  risers;  they 
retire  soon  after  the  sun  sets,  sleep  well,  and  get  through  a 
great  deal  of  work  before  it  becomes  unpleasantly  hot.  Being 
bare-footed,  they  find  marching  during  the  middle  portion 
of  the  day  extremely  painful  over  the  hot,  sandy  paths,  the 
heat  of  which  causes  deep  cracks  in  the  soles  of  their  feet. 
At  times  these  ulcerate  and  completely  incapacitate  them 
for  travelling;  therefore  it  is  imperative  to  get  away  on  a 
journey  as  early  as  possible,  for  a  lame  porter  means  having 


PORTERS  AND  THEIR  LOADS 


a  load  without  any  one  to  carry  it,  much  delay,  and  at  times 
serious  loss. 

When  the  general  scramble  which  I  have  described  was 
over,  and  each  man's  name  and  load  entered  on  the  lists,  the 
Europeans  were  allotted  their  several  duties  en  route — e.g. 
superintending  the  commissariat,  tents,  loads,  hygiene,  accounts, 
&c.  &c.,  and  we  decided  to  start  on  the  following  day. 
During  the  afternoon  we  were  visited  by  the  head-man  of 
the  town  of  Saadani  and  district.  He  w^as  accompanied  by 
a  number  of  white-robed  followers,  evidently  arrayed  so  as  to 
make,  according  to  Eastern  custom,  a  respectable  show  of 
authority. 

•  They  were  very  polite,  making  numerous  inquiries  about 
our  outfit  and  intentions,  as  well  as  promising,  not  only  to 
assist  us  to  the  utmost  of  their  power  during  our  sojourn  at 
Saadani ;  but  to  capture  and  return  to  us  porters  who  might 
desert  on  the  road. 

This  promise  was  faithfully  kept;  and  although  the  chief 
was  an  old  slave-trader,  who  knew  full  well  that  every  European 
then  in  his  power  had  determined  to  ruin  his  trade,  I  always 
found  him  ready  to  assist  us  in  all  matters  in  which  he  was 
concerned.  His  son  was  not  so  friendly ;  but  little  did  my 
young  companion,  Arthur  Brooks,  imagine  that  the  hand  of 
yoti  white-robed,  smiling-faced  boy  would  one  day  strike 
him  dead  without  a  moment's  warning,  leaving  his  bones  to 
be  picked  clean  by  vultures  and  his  skull  to  whiten  in  the 
sun. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  I  strolled  through  the  village ; 
its  main  characteristics  were  untidiness  and  filth.  The  huts 
were  carelessly  built,  and  no  attempt  to  observe  the  most 
rudimentary  laws  of  sanitation  appeared  to  be  made  by 
either  chief  or  people. 

The  more  favoured  women  wore  cheap,  gaudy  clothes, 
thrown  somewhat  gracefully  over  their  bodies;  but  their 
features  were   made  hideous  by  the   insertion   of  circular 

39  c 


THE  LONG  MARCH  COMMENCED 


ornaments  through  the  nose  and  ears.  Between  these  belles 
and  the  poorly  clad  worn-out  old  creatures  who  toiled  from 
morning  to  night  there  was  a  vast  gulf,  almost  as  great  as 
in  our  own  country  between  rich  and  poor;  yet  all  were 
"domestic  slaves,''  most  of  them  quite  happy  and  proud  to 
be  able  to  claim  allegiance  to  "Muinyi"  or  "  Saidi,"  as  the 
case  might  be.  If  not  actually  born  in  slavery,  they  had 
long  since  forgotten  from  whence  they  were  stolen ;  even  if 
they  could  have  remembered  the  name  of  their  village,  few 
had  any  idea  where  it  was  situated,  and  none  would  have 
accepted  their  freedom  if  you  had  offered  to  redeem  them, 
knowing  full  well  that  it  was  an  utter  impossibility  for  them 
ever  to  travel  back  to  the  old  far-away  home. 

This  was  my  first  contact  with  real  slaves,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  they  were  not  badly  treated,  and  were  for  the  most 
part  tolerably  happy. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  before  another  aspect  of  this  matter 
was  revealed  to  me  in  all  its  cruel  nakedness,  the  sight  of 
which  burned  out  of  my  mind  for  ever  the  last  remnant  of 
toleration  for  domestic  slavery  Avhich  I  may  have  entertained, 
and  made  me  an  avowed  enemy  of  all  who  soiled  their  hands 
with  the  accursed  system. 

It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  mixed  population  at  the 
coast  gave  little  indication  of  what  the  tribes  of  the  Interior 
were  like.  There  were  no  native  industries  to  be  seen  any- 
where. The  ornaments  and  clothes  they  wore  had  their  origin 
in  Manchester  and  India  rather  than  in  Africa;  even  when 
dressed  in  the  height  of  coast  fashion  they  presented  an 
artificial  appearance.  One  looked  in  vain  for  the  lithe  cat- 
like forms  to  be  found  in  vast  stretches  of  the  country ;  but 
these  lazy,  slave- depraved  people  were,  I  felt  positive,  many 
degrees  below  the  primitive,  half-savage  tribes  of  the  Interior, 
amongst  whom  we  were  about  to  live.  Mohammedanism  had 
done  little  for  them  except  to  make  them  consider  the  Creator 

their  special  Protector,  and  the  vast  multitudes  of  natives 

40 


THE  LONG  MARCH  COMMENCED 


their  legitimate  prey,  ranking  them  about  on  an  equality 
with  the  animals  in  the  forest. 

I  felt  glad  to  turn  away  from  the  village  to  seek  something 
edible  in  the  forest,  so,  shouldering  a  fowling-piece  and  calling 
my  boy,  I  went  into  the  outskirts  of  the  maize  gardens,  and 
was  not  there  long  before  up  flew  a  fine  flock  of  guinea-fowl, 
and  two  plump  birds  graced  next  day's  dining-table  as  the 
result  of  our  first  hunt  for  game  in  Africa. 

We  were  up  and  away  from  camp  the  next  morning  before 
6  A.M.  At  the  head  of  our  long  line  of  porters  marched  what 
is  known  in  Africa  as  a  "  kilangozi.""  He  is  a  man  chosen 
on  account  of  his  intimate  knowledge  of  wliat  we  might  call 
"  the  rule  of  the  road." 

In  addition  to  being  physically  strong,  he  must  know 
which  paths  to  avoid,  and  this  is  by  no  means  an  easy  task 
where  the  vegetation  is  dense  and  no  conspicuous  landmarks 
can  be  used  as  a  guide  to  camp. 

Amongst  such  a  large  number  of  men,  many  are  sure  to 
be  utterly  unable  to  grasp  the  simplest  geographical  feature 
of  the  country  or  to  understand  verbal  directions. 

Therefore  the  leader  must  never  omit  to  close  all  paths 
which  he  does  not  wish  those  who  follow  to  take.  This  is 
done  by  placing  on  the  path  either  a  few  leaves  or  sticks, 
or,  if  these  are  not  procurable,  he  simply  drav/s  a  line  across 
with  his  spear. 

I  have  frequently  lost  porters  who,  after  tramping  for 
hours,  had  walked  on  mechanically,  never  noticing  these  signs, 
and  were  only  brought  to  their  senses  by  arriving  at  a  strange 
village  many  miles  out  of  their  way. 

The  sight  of  game  made  me  forsake  duty ;  for,  as  we 
opened  out  into  a  beautiful  green  valley,  we  saw  a  fine  harte- 
beeste  quietly  grazing.  It  was  the  work  of  a  moment  to 
decide  that  sport  was  not  to  be  despised,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  mass  of  venison  which  would  make  glad  the  hearts 
of  both  master  and  men.    Calling  my  boy,  I  slipped  into 


THE  LONG  MARCH  COMMENCED 


cover ;  alas !  I  had  reckoned  without  my  host.  Thorns  of 
every  imaginable  size  caused  me  to  halt.  It  was  the  first  taste 
of  bush-work,  and  how  much  I  regretted  leaving  behind  those 
gaiters  which  the  transport  agent  hoped  I  should  never  need ! 
I  now  understood  his  meaning ! 

Too  much  attention  to  the  thorns  made  me  forget  the 
more  important  matter  of  stalking  the  animal,  and,  on 
emerging  from  the  bush,  I  was  mortified  by  seeing  the 
hartebeeste  about  to  disappear  into  the  forest  on  the 
opposite  side.  I  might  possibly  have  wounded  him,  but  a 
certain  kill  was  out  of  the  question. 

"  Pepo,  bwana  "  (wind,  master),  was  the  only  word  uttered 
by  my  companion. 

"  Yes,  boy,''  I  replied.    "  He  got  our  wind." 

I  had  omitted  to  remember  that  animals  must  be  approached 
from  the  lee  side,  and  an  African  lad  had  given  me  a  lesson 
in  big-game  hunting.  We  circled  round  for  some  distance, 
and,  failing  to  get  another  sight  of  game,  made  for  a  village 
for  water.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  a  white  man  was,  to  say 
the  least,  a  novelty  to  the  inhabitants,  probably  on  account  of 
their  being  off  the  main  caravan  road,  as  well  as  from  the 
fact  that  but  few  Europeans  had  passed  through  this  district. 

My  boy  soon  put  them  at  their  ease,  but  what  yarn  he 
told  them  I  did  not  know;  his  instructions  were  to  ask  for 
water,  and  to  say  we  were  hunting.  Water  was  brought, 
and,  being  tired,  we  rested.  The  natives  soon  collected 
around,  and  became  quite  talkative  with  the  boy.  At  last, 
seeing  they  were  curiously  interested  in  my  boots,  I  asked 
the  boy  what  they  were  saying. 

"  That  you  have  hoofs  like  the  zebra,"  replied  he. 

It  struck  me  as  a  novel  idea,  and,  entering  into  the  fun 
of  the  thing,  I  replied  : 

"  Tell  them  they  are  wrong ;  I  have  feet  like  their  own." 

At  the  reception  of  this  news  they  shook  their  heads, 
saying  to  my  boy : 

42 


AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT 


"  If  he  speaks  the  truth,  tell  him  to  show  us  !  " 

Ah  !  How  many  times  in  after  years  have  I  realised  that 
to  impress  anything  on  an  African's  mind,  to  win  his  confidence, 
you  must  demonstrate  the  truth  of  what  you  say. 

"Deeds,  not  words,"  is  inscribed  on  the  minds  of  the 
whole  of  the  coloured  races. 

A  few  seconds  sufficed  to  remove  the  boots.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  outburst  of  laughter  which  ensued.  Being  totally 
ignorant  of  what  they  were  gone  mad  about,  I  said  to  my 
boy :  "  What  in  the  world  are  they  amused  at  ?  I  have 
shown  them  I  have  not  hoofs,  are  they  not  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Yes,  master  !    But — now  they  declare  you  have  no  toes ! " 

"Oh,  do  they?  Well,  you  just  tell  them  I  have  ten 
toes,*"  and  holding  up  both  hands,  I  proceeded  to  count  them, 
at  the  same  time  joining  heartily  in  their  laughter. 

"  Show  us  !    Show  us  !  "  came  back  their  reply. 

And  show  them  I  did.  The  simple  act  of  pulling  off 
a  sock  must  have  almost  prepared  them  to  see  the  foot  itself 
drop  off,  for  I  could  see  the  younger  ones  were  quite  ready 
to  scamper  away  at  any  unexpected  developments. 

Wondering  what  they  would  have  to  say,  I  gave  a  final 
pull,  and  with  one  voice  they  yelled  : 

"  He''s  white  all  over ! " 

"  Yes,  I  am,"  I  cried ;  "  and  you  must  take  it  on  trust, 
for  no  more  clothes  will  be  removed  for  your  pleasure." 

Whatever  Tom  told  them  must  remain  a  mystery ;  all  I 
knew  was  that  they  suddenly  became  quiet. 

Having  rested,  I  thought  it  time  to  make  them  pay  for 
their  entertainment,  so,  filling  my  pipe,  I  lighted  a  match 
and,  as  I  half  expected,  my  audience  cleared  in  all  directions. 

A  few  of  the  most  daring  stopped,  and  pointing  to  me 
exclaimed  (so  Tom  said)  : 

"  Now  we  know  you  are  a  spirit,  for  you  can  carry  fire 
in  your  clothes  without  being  burned." 

Leaving  the  box  of  matches  on  the  ground,  and  Tom 

43 


AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT 


to  show  them  "how  it  was  done,"  I  moved  away,  glad  to 
have  witnessed  an  exhibition  of  friendly,  innocent  fun  amongst 
Nature's  children  of  the  forest,  and  delighted  to  have  had 
an  early  opportunity  of  demonstrating  to  Africans  that  a 
white  man's  word  is  his  bond. 

The  next  business  was  to  pick  up  the  path  and  camp,  for, 
beyond  a  general  idea  as  to  the  direction,  I  was  somewhat 
at  sea.  Tom,  however,  displayed  no  hesitation,  but  entered 
the  forest,  saying: 

"  Master !  we  must  walk  quickly,  or  it  will  be  dark  before 
you  reach  camp." 

I  was  struck  by  the  perfect  confidence  he  had  in  his  ability 
to  find  the  path,  and  all  doubt  was  quickly  dispelled  as,  after 
crossing  a  few  miles  of  forest,  he  struck  a  pathway,  scrutinised 
it  for  a  second,  and  exclaimed : 

"  It''s  all  right.    Our  people  have  passed." 

A  few  miles  ahead,  the  camp  was  reached  in  good  time  for 
dinner,  and  over  the  evening  pipe  we  laughed  and  joked  about 
the  day's  experiences,  my  companions  declaring  that,  had  I 
exhibited  a  little  more  common  sense  when  stalking  that 
hartebeeste,  the  whole  of  the  party  would  at  that  moment 
have  been  discussing  the  flavour  of  our  first  African  venison, 
instead  of  having  to  be  satisfied  with  tinned  meats. 

The  rains  were  now  over,  but  as  yet  the  grass  (standing 
about  six  feet  high)  was  not  burned  up  by  those  devastating 
fires  which  annually  sweep  over  nearly  all  tropical  Africa, 
destroying  or  stunting  most  of  the  young  trees. 

It  is  this  repeated  scorching  which  partly  accounts  for  the 
wretched  specimens  of  trees  growing  in  most  districts  of  East 
Africa,  and,  when  the  country  is  little  short  of  a  vast  charcoal 
desert,  travelling  becomes  unpleasant.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
rains  and  dense  vegetation  make  it  almost  impossible  to  enjoy 
camp  earlier  in  the  year.  Nevertheless,  there  is  something 
very  fascinating  in  African  life  and  travel. 

Few  men  can  satisfactorily  explain  to  others  wherein  lies 

44 


THE  CHARM  OF  AFRICAN  LIFE 


the  charm,  and  one  often  hears  from  friends,  who  have  never 
been  there,  expressions  of  surprise  that  any  one  can  really 
enjoy  the  nomadic  and  isolated  life.  They  too  often  forget 
that  those  who  go  there  have  some  strong  motive,  some  goal 
to  reach  which  nothing  but  failure  of  health  can  make  them 
relinquish.  It  is  in  the  intense  pursuit  of  these  aims  that 
mosquitoes,  privation,  and  danger  are  forgotten.  There  is  also 
the  total  absence  of  conventionality.  The  silence  of  the  forest 
is  a  welcome  change  from  the  noisy  city,  and  one's  manhood 
seems  to  assert  itself  much  more  when  entirely  cut  off  from 
European  associations. 

Perhaps  the  sense  of  individuality  is  the  main  attraction. 
In  the  constant  whirl  of  civilisation  the  personal  element  is 
somewhat  lost  in  the  mass.  Out  in  the  forests  of  Africa  you 
are  the  man  amongst  your  surroundings.  It  may  not  be  very 
much  in  reality,  but  at  all  events  it  is  enough  to  make  you 
enjoy  your  environment ;  and  the  coloured  people  unconsciously 
weave  themselves  into  your  life  as  you  study  their  lives  and 
their  language,  and  realise  that  in  most  instances  you  are  each 
others'  protectors,  and,  for  the  time  at  least,  friends.  This 
fascination  was  beginning  to  cast  its  spell  over  me,  and  for 
twenty-six  years  it  never  ceased  to  chain  me  to  the  Dark 
Continent. 

Our  westward  journey  to  the  first  sectional  halting-place 
continued  without  any  remarkable  occurrence;  but,  as  we 
neared  Mamboia  (136  miles  from  the  coast),  fever  bowled  me 
over  and  well-nigh  ended  my  career.  Owing,  however,  to  the 
skilful  attention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Last,  I  recovered  and,  leaving 
the  remainder  of  our  party  to  march  on  to  M'pwapwa  and 
await  us.  Captain  Hore  and  myself  returned  to  the  coast  for 
our  boat,  reaching  Zanzibar  in  eight  days.  We  soon  had  the 
carts  ready  and  again  started  up-country.  It  is  all  very  well 
marching  along  a  narrow  path,  but  to  draw  wheeled  vehicles 
is  another  matter.  Every  rock  and  tree-stump  was  a  vexatious 
hindrance,  and  it  required  a  coLipany  of  axe-men  to  clear  away 

45 


INSIGHT  INTO  NATIVE  CHARACTER 


obstacles.  The  men  pulled,  perspired,  and  "  said  things." 
A  broken  trace,  a  capsize,  up  to  the  axle  in  mud,  wheel 
off.  Sec.  &;c.,  would  be  a  fair  summary  of  the  daily  life  and  the 
pin-pricks  one  had  to  endure  for  three  months.  But  those 
black  fellows  never  gave  up !  Had  they  known  what  was 
before  them,  it  is  certain  none  would  have  chosen  to  be  yoked 
as  "donkeys"  to  those  boat-sections.  In  order  that  the 
reader  may  quite  understand  what  these  men  had  to  do,  I 
may  here  explain  that  two  boat-sections  weighed  300  lbs. 
each,  and  four  others  230  lbs.  each,  besides  the  carts  on  which 
they  were  lashed.  The  pathway  seldom  exceeded  two  feet 
in  width,  with  trees  and  tall  grasses  growing  close  up  to  its 
edges.  If  you  picture  these  men  dragging  such  burdens  under 
a  broiling  sun,  along  that  path  for  825  miles  (it  took  three 
months),  you  will  probably  join  with  me  in  calling  them  a 
brave  set  of  black  men. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  mountains,  I  was  ordered  to  take 
these  carts  through  the  Mukondokwa  valley  (Captain  Hore 
travelling  by  another  road  to  escort  his  wife  and  son,  who 
unfortunately  had  to  return  to  England,  but  who  later  on 
went  to  Lake  Tanganyika).  The  valley  was  very  lovely,  and, 
but  for  the  dense  vegetation,  would  have  been  most  enjoyable 
to  travel  through. 

Whilst  alone  with  this  division  of  our  party  in  the  valley, 
I  had  an  amusing  insight  into  native  character.  The  high 
grass  was  nearly  dry,  and  one  evening,  shortly  after  dinner, 
I  heard  the  ominous  crackling  of  a  grass  fire  quite  close  to 
the  tent  and  my  men  making  a  fearful  noise.  Calling 
Tom,  I  asked  for  explanation.  "  Moto,  bwana,  moto  "  (fire  ! 
master,  fire !)  exclaimed  he.  Sure  enough,  the  grass  was 
on  fire.  I  saw  ruin  staring  us  in  the  face  as  I  pictured  the 
boat,  tent,  calico  (money),  rifles,  ammunition,  and  outfit 
adding  to  the  general  conflagration.  In  the  space  of  a  few 
seconds  the  tent  was  tiown  and  everything  removed  to  a  safe 
place. 

46 


INSIGHT  INTO  NATIVE  CHARACTER 


None  too  soon,  as  directly  afterwards  the  fire  passed  over 
the  very  spot.  I  rewarded  the  men  who  were  most  energetic 
in  subduing  the  flames.  I  had  not  long  retired  to  rest  before 
a  second  alarm  was  raised,  and  again  the  same  process  was  re- 
peated and  small  presents  distributed.  But  by  this  time  I 
had  become  suspicious  of  trickery,  so,  pitching  the  tent  on  a 
burned  patch  of  ground,  I  awaited  events. 

As  I  expected,  the  grass  was  fired  in  another  direction,  and 
on  being  called,  I  replied,  Let  it  burn ! I  knew  it  was 
only  a  plot  to  extort  presents.  They  had  purposely  set  it 
alight ;  but,  as  I  was  alone,  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  wait  for 
daylight.  Tom  next  morning  confirmed  my  suspicions,  saying 
in  an  undertone  in  broken  English  :  "  Master  no  yet  speak 
our  language — not  know  black  men.  Porters  not  much  bad 
and  not  very  good.  They  play  with  you  as  you  are  new  to 
country.  Master,  never  put  tent  up  in  grass;  plenty  fire." 
"  All  right,  Tom  ! "  I  replied.  "  Master  plenty  wake  up 
after  breakfast." 

It  is  needless  to  assure  the  reader  master  never  again  slept 
in  the  grass  during  his  African  life.  One  lesson  was  enough  ! 
Without  entering  into  details,  I  may  say  that  "  after  hxak- 
fasf''  the  head-man  of  our  party  was  publicly  reminded  that 
a  white  man  takes  a  serious  objection  to  unnecessary  excite- 
ment in  camp  after  the  labours  of  the  day  are  supposed  to  be 
over ;  and  I  doubt  if  he  will  ever  forget  the  lesson  learned  in 
company  with  his  young  master  in  the  Mukondokwa  valley. 


47 


CHAPTER  III 


Cruelties  of  the  Slave-Trade — Major  Von  Wissmann — Diffi- 
culties OF  the  Road — "  Pay  or  Fight  " — Loyal  Service — A 
Narrow  Escape — The  Mighty  Mirambo — Native  and  Lion. 

ON  the  29th  of  November  we  arrived  at  M'pwapwa,  where 
the  main  portion  of  the  party  had  encamped.  They 
were  thoroughly  tired  of  waiting  in  that  uninteresting 
district.  Although  about  200  miles  from  the  coast,  the  natives 
bore  most  of  the  objectionable  characteristics  of  a  slave- 
depraved  race.  Situated  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Ugogo  plains 
and  forests,  the  neighbourhood  had  become  a  convenient 
halting  place  for  all  the  slave  caravans  en  route  to  the 
coast. 

Here  we  met  the  notorious  Tip-pu-Tib's  annual  caravan, 
which  ha^  been  resting  after  the  long  march  through  Ugogo 
and  the  hot  passes  of  Chunyo.  'As  they  filed  past  we  noticed 
many  chained  together  by  the  neck.  Others  had  their  necks 
fastened  into  the  forks  of  poles  about  6  feet  long,  the  ends  of 
which  were  supported  by  the  men  who  preceded  them.  The 
women,  who  were  as  numerous  as  the  men,  carried  babies  on 
their  backs  in  addition  to  a  tusk  of  ivory  or  other  burden 
on  their  heads;  They  looked  at  us  with  suspicion  and  fear, 
having  been  told,  as  we  subsequently  ascertained,  that  white 
men  always  desired  to  release  slaves  in  order  to  eat  their  flesh, 
like  the  Upper  Congo  cannibals. 

It  is  difficult  adequately  to  describe  the  filthy  state  of  their 
bodies;  in  many  instances,  not  only  scarred  by  the  cut  of  a 
"  chikote  "  (a  piece  of  hide  used  to  enforce  obedience),  but  feet 
and  shoulders  were  a  mass  of  open  sores,  made  more  painful  by 
the  swarms  of  flies  which  followed  the  march  and  lived  on  the 

48 


CRUELTIES  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE 


flowing  blood.  They  presented  a  moving  picture  of  utter 
misery,  and  one  could  not  help  wondering  how  any  of  them 
had  survived  the  long  tramp  from  the  Upper  Congo,  at  least 
1000  miles  distant.  Our  own  inconveniences  sank  into  in- 
significance compared  with  the  suffering  of  this  crowd  of  half- 
starved,  ill-treated  creatures  who,  weary  and  friendless,  must 
have  longed  for  death. 

The  head-men  in  charge  were  most  polite  to  us  as  they 
passed  our  camp.  Each  was  armed  with  a  rifle,  knife,  and 
spear,  and  although  decently  clothed  in  clean  cotton  garments, 
they  presented  a  thoroughly  villainous  appearance. 

Addressing  one,  I  pointed  out  that  many  of  the  slaves  were 
unfit  to  carry  loads.    To  this  he  smilingly  replied : 

"  They  have  no  choice  !    They  must  go,  or  die  ! 

Then  ensued  the  following  conversation  : — 

"  Are  all  these  slaves  destined  for  Zanzibar  ? 

"  Most  of  them,  the  remainder  will  stay  at  the  coast." 

"  Have  you  lost  many  on  the  road  ?  " 

"  Yes  !  numbers  have  died  of  hunger  ! 

"  Any  run  away  ?  "  ^ 

"  No,  they  are  too  well  guarded.  Only  those  who^  become 
possessed  with  the  devil  try  to  escape;  there  is  nowhere 
they  could  run  to  if  they  should  go.'' 

"  What  do  you  do  when  they  become  too  ill  to  travel  ?  " 

"  Spear  them  at  once !  was  the  fiendish  reply.  "  For, 
if  we  did  not,  others  would  pretend  they  were  ill  in  order 
to  avoid  carrying  their  loads.  No !  we  never  leave  them 
alive  on  the  road ;  they  all  know  our  custom."" 

"  I  see  women  carrying  not  only  a  child  on  their  backs, 
but,  in  addition,  a  tusk  of  ivory  or  other  burden  on  their 
heads.  What  do  you  do  in  their  case  when  they  become  too 
weak  to  carry  both  child  and  ivory  ?    Who  carries  the  ivory  ?  " 

"  She  does !  We  cannot  leave  valuable  ivory  on  the 
road.  We  spear  the  child  and  make  her  burden  lighter.  Ivory 
first,  child  afterwards  !  " 

49 


CRUELTIES  OF  THE  SLAVE-TRADE 


I  could  have  struck  the  demon  dead  at  my  feet. 

For  downright  savagery  this  beat  anything  I  had  met 
with.  "  Ivory  first,  child  afterwards ! "  I  repeated  over  and 
over  again.  Alas !  I  was  destined  many  times  to  witness 
the  truth  of  that  cruel  statement. 

Thus  early  in  my  life  I  understood  what  Livingstone 
meant  and  felt  when,  in  1886,  he  wrote  the  following: 
"  Besides  those  actually  captured,  thousands  are  killed, 
or  die  of  their  wounds  and  famine,  driven  from  their  homes 
by  the  slave-raider.  Thousands  perish  in  internecine  wars, 
waged  for  slaves  with  their  own  clansmen  or  neighbours ; 
slain  by  the  lust  for  gain  which  is  stimulated  by  the  slave- 
purchasers.  The  many  skeletons  we  have  seen  amongst 
the  rocks  and  woods,  by  the  pools,  and  along  the  paths 
of  the  wilderness,  all  testify  to  the  awful  sacrifice  of 
human  life  which  must  be  attributed  directly  or  indirectly 
to  this  trade  of  hell.**''  Strong  words,  but  not  a  whit  too 
strong  ! 

As  the  last  poor  creature  in  that  living  chain  of  wretched- 
ness passed  me,  every  humane  feeling  within  me  rose  up  in 
rebellion  as  I  realised  for  the  first  time  that,  though  a  member 
of  a  philanthropical  society,  I  was  unable  to  respond  to  the 
natural  impulse  of  an  Englishman  and  set  the  whole  company 
free.  Nevertheless,  our  indignant  protest  was  despatched  both 
to  Zanzibar  and  England,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  we  were  then 
looking  at  the  last  slave-caravan  ever  permitted  to  leave  the 
mainland.  The  reader,  however,  should  bear  in  mind  that 
although  those  Eastern  slave-routes  are  now  closed,  there  is 
yet  at  the  present  day  a  considerable  area  in  Africa  still  re- 
maining wherein  are  practised  similar  cruelties  which  call 
for  speedy  suppression  by  those  European  Powers  who  have 
acquired  the  regions  as  a  sphere  of  influence. 

It  was  a  pleasant  relief  next  day  to  meet  the  genial  German 
explorer,  Major  von  Wissmann,  who  had  crossed  the  Continent 
from  west  to  east.    With  eyes  sparkling  and  full  of  laughter 

50 


A  Dug-out  Canoe 

This  is  used  for  fishing.  The  land  on  the  opposite- side  of  the  lake  is  not  visible.  The  men  have 
scientifically  distributed  their  weight  to  preserve  a  proper  balance. 


A  Method  of  Securing  Slaves 

When  travelling  a  shorter  pole  is  used,  one  end  bain?  held  up  by  the  preceding  person.  The 
neck  is  often  l)roken  if  the  slave  falls  when  walking.  Lunatics  are  also  imprisoned  in  this  way  to 
prevent  their  running  into  the  forest.  It  is  also  used  to  torture  enemies,  who  are  fixed  in  this 
manner  over  the  nests  of  ferocious  ants. 


MAJOR  VON  WISSMANN 


he  apologised  for  his  attire ;  explaining  that,  to  replace  his  hat 
he  had  bought  a  cap  at  Ujiji ;  having  worn  out  his  foot-gear, 
he  had  purchased  some  weird -looking  boots  at  Urambo ;  and, 
wanting  the  necessary  materials  for  washing  linen,  he  had  made 
himself  a  vest  of  unbleached  calico.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
meet  him  again  both  at  Tanganyika  and  in  Nyasaland,  where 
his  ability,  tact,  and  cheerful  optimism  won  him  the  admiration 
of  all  pioneers.  Germany  has  given  many  brilliant  sons  to 
Africa ;  but  I  doubt  if  any  name  deserves,  or  will  receive,  more 
lasting  honour  at  her  hands  than  Von  Wissmann,  subsequently 
Governor  of  her  Eastern  Colony. 

Leaving  camp  on  December  2,  we  made  for  Mkambi, 
beyond  the  hot  pass  of  Chunyo.  The  country  was  very  rugged, 
necessitating  the  cutting  of  new  paths  in  many  places  through 
the  dense  scrub.  About  thirty  miles  ahead  we  entered  the 
plains  of  Ugogo,  and  travelling  became  easier  ;  but  the  second 
day^s  march  will  not  soon  be  forgotten,  for  every  yard  of  road 
was  disputed  by  thorny  bushes,  which,  meeting  overhead,  made 
walking  upright  out  of  the  question.  The  men  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  push  forward  with  their  loads,  whilst  to  drag  our  carts 
through  appeared  almost  hopeless. 

At  sunrise  our  vanguard  attacked  with  axes  the  tangled 
vegetation,  and  succeeded  in  enlarging  the  tunnel  so  that  the 
carts  could  pass.  But  it  was  heart-breaking  work.  At  noon 
we  had  covered  but  a  few  miles,  whilst  most  of  the  men  who 
carried  loads  were  tired  out  by  constantly  stooping  under  the 
creepers.  To  make  matters  worse,  rain  fell  heavily  about  4  p.m. 
The  road  at  once  became  sodden,  and,  with  wheels  sinking  up 
to  the  axles  in  mud,  it  is  no  wonder  our  men  became  exhausted 
after  ten  hours  of  such  toil  without  food.  Unfortunately  for 
me,  it  had  been  my  turn  that  day  to  superintend  the  transport, 
so  the  night  was  extremely  welcome ;  for,  being  dressed  in  a 
canvas  suit  which  was  soaked  with  rain  and  covered  with  mud, 
I  was  fairly  miserable. 

Turning  to  a  head-man  I  asked  if  it  was  far  to  camp. 

53 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ROAD 


I  (ioirt  know,  master,""  replied  he ;  "  but  we  cannot  reach 
there  to-night  with  these  carts."" 

This  was  not  cheering,  for  it  was  raining  and  dark.  All 
were  hungry,  tired  out,  and  cold.  The  ground  was  covered  with 
water,  and  to  spend  a  night  in  dense  bush  under  such  conditions 
was  to  court  fever  or  death.  At  that  moment  we  were  cheered 
by  the  sight  of  a  lantern  approaching,  which  proved  to  be 
carried  by  a  messenger  from  Hore,  who  delivered  to  me  a  slip 
of  paper  containing  instructions  to  leave  the  carts  and  make 
for  camp. 

"  Come  along,  boys ! ""  I  shouted,  and  with  thoughts  of 
dry  clothes,  a  bath,  hot  coffee,  fire,  and  sleep,  we  quickly 
shuffled  through  the  slush.  A  mile  or  two  on  we  espied  the 
gleaming  camp-fires,  to  which  master  and  men  hastened  for 
warmth.  How  grateful  it  was,  this  rough  wood  fire  under 
the  open  sky.  Certainly  the  figures  crouching  around  it 
thanked  Allah  for  the  precious  gift. 

The  rain  ceased,  having  done  its  worst,  and  1  felt  sure 
my  personal  servant  had  long  since  made  my  tent  cosy, 
prepared  supper  and  warm  clothes,  and  filled  the  pipe.  With 
these  too  hastily  formed  conclusions,  I  was  groping  around 
in  the  endeavour  to  find  my  tent,  when  I  heard  Hore"'s  voice 
saying: 

"  What  are  you  hunting  for,  Swann  ? "'"' 

"  My  tent,"*"*  I  replied.  "  I  am  done  up  and  cold,  and 
this  canvas  suit  would  stand  up  by  itself,  it  is  so  stiff  with 
the  rain."'"' 

His  reply  was  crushing. 

"You  will  get  no  tent  to-night,  or  bed  either,  for  our 
companions  have  gone  on  and  taken  the  tents  with  them.  But, 
never  mind,  the  men  who  carried  the  food  collapsed  near 
here ;  so  we  have  the  dinner,  they  the  beds." 

"  How  nice  !  "  I  replied. 

Hore  was,  like  the  rest  of  us,  soaking  wet;  but,  with  a 

smile,  he  said:  "Let's  make  the  best  of  a  bad  job.  You 

54 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ROAD 


make  coffee,  whilst  I'll  fry  pancakes.  Afterwards  we  will 
give  the  fellows  hot  porridge  and  coffee,  or  some  will  collapse 
during  the  night."" 

It  was  both  an  amusing  and  uncomfortable  occupation 
to  carry  out  the  programme,  but  it  was  done.  Boxes  were 
arranged  around  the  fire,  upon  which  we  lay,  drying  first 
one  side  and  then  the  other ;  and  we  indulged  in  many  a 
hearty  laugh  though  our  teeth  were  chattering  with  cold. 

Whilst  I  was  lying  thus,  gazing  up  at  the  stars,  the  whole 
thing  struck  me  as  very  comical,  especially  when  I  saw  my 
companion  endeavouring  to  prevent  himself  from  rolling  off 
into  the  fire  when  asleep,  and  I  ventured  the  following  remark : 

"  I  suppose  this  is  what  we  sailors  call  '  sleeping  on 
a  clothes-line  to  dry  ? '  " 

"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  Did  you  not  see  me  trying  to  peg 
myself  on  ?  " 

At  that  instant  a  hyena  make  the  camp  echo  with  its  dismal 
howl,  but  how  often  it  was  repeated  we  did  not  know,  for  deep 
sleep  came  to  our  relief.  We  awoke  in  broad  daylight,  little 
refreshed  and  both  feverish. 

This  part  was  inhabited  by  the  most  inquisitive  and  insolent 
natives  I  ever  met.  They  lived  where  water  was  scarce  during 
the  dry  season,  demanding  heavy  payment  for  the  use  of  wells. 
If  this  had  been  k^pt  within  reasonable  bounds  no  one  would 
have  grumbled,  but  it  was  extortionate  and  demanded  in 
a  most  objectionable  manner.  The  men  carried  heavy  broad- 
bladed  spears ;  their  faces  were  made  hideous  by  markings  of 
red  and  white  pigment.  They  crowded  around  our  tents,  and 
altogether  behaved  in  an  offensive  manner.  It  was  perhaps 
fortunate  we  did  not  understand  their  language,  or  trouble 
might  easily  have  arisen.  Their  villages  were  built  in  a  square, 
the  outsides  being  protected  by  a  loop-holed  wall  of  dry  mud. 
In  this  enclosure  they  lived  along  the  corridors,  whilst  the 
central  space  was  reserved  for  the  cattle,  the  whole  place  being 
disgustingly  dirty.    The  settling  of  our  tribute  was  a  most 

55 


"PAY  OR  FIGHT 


exasperating  business.  First,  they  must  have  calico  "  to  make 
the  chiefs  heart  good ; "  next,  they  must  have  more  to  appease 
some  other  member  of  the  aristocracy ;  finally,  some  more  "  to 
oil  the  spears  of  the  head-men."  When  that  was  done,  they 
wanted  the  remainder  in  guns,  then  slaves,  then  ivory,  calico, 
brass,  wire,  salt ;  in  short,  every  imaginable  article  known  to 
the  most  greedy  amongst  them. 

Each  request  was  accompanied  by  an  ultimatum,  "  pay 
or  fight  ! "  no  pay,  no  water,"'  and  so  on.  In  fact  they 
demonstrated  to  perfection  how  unjust  the  coloured  man  can 
be  when  he  is  paramount.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  the 
Germans  put  an  end  to  all  this  nonsense  directly  after  occupy- 
ing the  country.  These  Wagogo  were  so  powerful  that  both 
Stanley  and  Tip-pu-Tib,  who  travelled  with  well-armed 
escorts,  were  compelled  to  pay  tribute,  so  we  could  not  hope  to 
escape. 

The  only  redeeming  feature  of  the  country  was  its  smooth 
surface,  over  which  our  men  galloped  with  the  carts,  often 
arriving  in  camp  hours  before  the  rear-guard.  Such  an  easy 
day  pleased  them  ;  for,  like  children,  they  are  as  quickly  elated 
as  depressed.  It  was  common  to  hear  them,  about  this  time, 
speculating  as  to  the  number  of  days  which  would  elapse  before 
they  saw  the  mighty  Tanganyika. 

Leaving  the  plain  we  suddenly  ascended  about  800  feet 
to  a  plateau,  and  entered  the  much  dreaded  Mgunda-Mkali 
wilderness.  The  climb  was  difficult,  the  heavy  carts  requiring 
all  our  spare  men ;  whilst  the  absence  of  water  on  the  hillside 
was  keenly  felt  during  the  heat  of  day.  Severe  as  this  work  was, 
it  was  eclipsed  by  that  done  through  the  forest  at  the  summit, 
where  our  marches  frequently  exceeded  twenty-five  miles  a  day 
without  water.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  any  man  can 
endure  such  a  strain  with  60-lbs.  weight  on  his  head. 

In  this  forest  I  witnessed  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
endurance  and  loyalty  of  a  black  man.  Once,  after  several 
days  of  severe  marching,  our  men   failed  to   reach  camp. 

56 


LOYAL  SERVICE 


I  returned  to  them  with  water  and  assistance,  finding  the  carts 
with  only  half  their  crew,  the  remainder  having  gone  off  to 
camp.  I  asked  where  the  heavy  load  was,  and  they  replied, 
"  Miles  behind;' 

Fearing  the  men  would  be  starved,  we  pressed  on  towards 
them,  and  finally  discovered  the  load  drawn  up  under  a  bush. 
Searching  around  for  traces  of  the  crew,  I  heard  a  voice  faintly 
call  out : 

"  I  am  alive,  but  give  me  water  !  " 

On  looking  into  the  bush  we  discovered  the  leader, 
sheltered  from  the  sun,  and  after  giving  him  water,  I 
asked  : 

"  Where  are  the  others  ?  " 

"  Gone  on  to  camp/"*  he  replied,  "  for  food  and  water." 
"  Why  did  you  not  go  ?  " 

"  No,  master,  I  could  not  leave  the  boat-section.  My 
name  is  Mahububu.  I  was  one  of  Livingstone's  boys.  I  should 
have  died  by  the  load.  I  cut  off  the  hide  lashings  and  ate 
them,  and  the  roots  I  dug  up  and  sucked  for  moisture." 
Let  no  man  question  the  ability  of  black  men  to  perform 
loyal  service  after  evidence  of  such  heroic  conduct. 

Near  where  we  stood  we  discovered  the  skeletons  of  our 
four  mail-men,  who  had  been  murdered  by  robbers.  Frag- 
ments of  our  letters  lay  about  in  all  directions ;  but  as 
we  counted  seven  skulls,  it  proved  that  our  men  had  not 
died  without  a  brave  struggle,  taking  with  them  no  less 
than  three  of  their  assailants.  I  cannot  do  better  than  sum 
up  our  journey  to  this  point  in  Captain  Hore's  own 
words : — 

"  On  went  this  novel  train  through  weary  miles  of 
forest,  across  the  scorched  plain,  rattling  over  the  hard-baked 
footprints  of  elephant  and  rhinoceros.  On  through  grassy 
glades  where  the  antelope  bounded  away,  scared  out  of  our 
path,  and  the  zebra  and  giraffe  were  startled  by  the  rattle 
of  these  strange  disturbers  of  their  solitude.     On  through 

57  D 


LOYAL  SERVICE 


miles  of  swamps  with  their  croaking  legions,  or  past  the 
dreary  wayside  relics  of  travellers  way-laid  and  exhausted. 
On  till  the  pace  grows  slow  and  the  heart  sick  with  weariness 
and  thirst,  and  revives  again  as  the  welcome  messenger 
appears  in  sight  with  water,  or  the  camp-fires  tell  of  food 
and  rest." 

Once  clear  of  this,  we  were  refreshed  by  the  abmidance 
of  food  found  everywhere  in  Unyamwezi.  The  robust  subjects 
of  the  great  Mirambo,  into  whose  territory  we  had  entered, 
made  us  realise  we  were  amongst  men  who  felt  they  belonged 
to  a  great  kingdom.  Whilst  they  cheerfully  rendered  respect 
to  white  men,  they  demanded  from  strangers  rigid  obedience 
to  the  social  laws  of  their  tribe.  These  Wanyamwezi  may 
be  called  the  professional  transport-agents  of  the  East  Coast. 
Not  one  of  them  was  allowed  to  marry  before  he  had  carried 
a  load  of  ivory  to  the  coast,  and  brought  back  one  of  calico 
or  brass-wire.  It  was  the  tribal  stamp  of  true  manhood, 
at  once  making  him  a  citizen  and  warrior. 

During  the  march  it  had  always  been  my  ambition  to 
bag  a  bull  buffalo,  and  although  aware  of  the  dangerous 
nature  of  these  brutes  when  wounded,  I  was  stupid  enough 
to  hunt  one  armed  onlv  with  a  small  Martini-Henry  cavalry 
carbine.  On  the  margin  of  a  broad  swamp,  in  which  were 
growing  bango  reeds  about  twelve  feet  high,  we  noticed  some 
fresh  buffalo  spoor  leading  into  the  thick  bush  surrounding 
the  marsh.  The  natives,  who  have  a  wholesome  respect  for 
the  animal,  warned  me  of  its  fierce  character,  and  Tom  not 
only  suggested  great  caution,  but  went  so  far  as  to  say  he 
thought  it  was  not  "  the  kind  of  game  master  generally 
shoots."  He  was  right,  and  I  almost  paid  dearly  for  not 
listening  to  prudent  counsel.  But  thinking  they  were  drawing 
the  long-bow,  I  paid  no  heed.  Striking  oil*  on  the  spoor  I 
at  once  began  creeping  through  the  dense  foliage,  making 
enough  noise  to  scare  any  game  long  before  reaching  it. 
After  about  a  mile  of  this  sort  of  travel  it  became  evident 

58 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 


we  were  overtaking 'our  quarry,  as  the  spoor  became  fresher 
and  the  broken  twigs  showed  the  herd  had  passed  quite 
recently. 

From  the  general  nature  of  the  country  it  appeared  an 
ideal  home  for  buffalo,  the  surrounding  bush  having  been 
trampled  into  a  grey  mire,  and  the  huge  trees  bashed  down 
by  elephants.  A  tangled  mass  of  vegetation  was  the  result, 
amongst  which  all  big  game  love  to  shelter.  An  uncanny 
feeling  always  crept  over  me  when  in  such  dense  country.  It 
may  have  been  caused  by  my  intense  horror  of  snakes,  but 
also  I  wanted  elbow-room  for  any  sudden  tussle  with  wild 
game,  as  it  is  an  unequal  contest  when  there  are  obstacles 
which  obstruct  the  vision,  especially  as  both  elephants  and 
buffaloes  are  known  to  stand  quite  still  in  the  heat  of  the  day, 
permitting  you,  if  they  have  not  caught  your  wind,  to  pass 
within  charging  distance;  and  although  they  seldom  charge 
without  provocation,  still,  the  knowledge  of  this  possible 
danger  makes  you  long  for  a  few  yards  of  clear  space. 

To  counteract  this  quite  natural  dislike  of  an  unseen  foe 
one  has  the  intense  excitement,  tempered,  of  course,  with  calm 
reason.  It  is  so  different  to  the  chase  in  England  after  hare 
or  fox,  where  the  hunter  rushes  though  open  country  and  the 
game  cannot  fight  for  its  life.  In  the  bush  one  knows  it  is 
about  an  even  chance,  and  so  far  as  this  particular  hunt  was 
concerned,  the  chances,  owing  to  my  ignorance  and  improper 
rifle,  were  against  me. 

Emerging  into  a  small  valley,  we  suddenly  came  upon 
seven  buffaloes  quietly  grazing,  surrounded  by  several  reed- 
buck,  water-buck,  and  zebra.  It  was  a  pretty  and  yet 
grand  spectacle.  To  throw  ourselves  flat  on  the  ground 
was  the  first  precaution ;  this  done,  I  crawled  along  the  edge 
of  the  forest  until  within  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
of  the  nearest  animal.  A  large  bull  buffalo  stood  exposing 
his  broadside  to  me,  and,  intending  to  shoot  at  him  from 
a  slight  rising  ground  in  front  of  me,  I  was  proceeding  to 

59 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 


crawl  into  position,  when  a  water-buck  galloped  past,  dis- 
appearing into  the  opposite  bush.  This,  of ,  course,  disturbed 
the  others.  The  zebra  threw  up  their  graceful  heads  and 
indulged  in  a  trotting  match.  The  buffaloes  were  very  uneasy 
and  began  prancing  about,  at  the  same  time  whirling  their 
tails  around  in  a  vicious  manner,  evidently  on  the  point 
of  moving  away  when  once  they  detected  the  position  of  the 
threatened  danger. 

I  saw  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  so,  resting  the  carbine 
against  a  tree,  I  fired  at  the  bull,  aiming  at  his  left  shoulder. 
He  fell  to  the  shot,  rolling  on  to  his  side  and  knees,  making 
a  deep  grunting  noise,  whilst  his  companions  made  off  en  masse, 
disappearing  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  The  bull  rapidly  recovered 
his  feet,  and  looked  around  for  his  assailant.  It  took  but 
a  moment  to  discover  me,  as  I  had  foolishly  exposed  myself, 
thinking  he  was  mortally  wounded. 

The  instant  he  saw  me  I  realised  my  mistake,  for,  with 
another  grunt,  he  came  at  fall  gallop  straight  for  me.  With 
his  head  held  high,  nostrils  distended,  and  sending  clouds 
of  earth  flying  from  his  hoofs,  he  covered  the  distance  which 
separated  us  in  a  few  seconds.  Having  reloaded  immediately 
after  firing,  I  was  ready ;  but  a  charging,  wounded  buffalo 
is  not  easily  stopped.  Dropping  on  one  knee  and  aiming 
for  his  chest,  I  pulled  the  trigger,  praying  the  bullet  would 
strike  the  heart.  Whether  it  did  or  not,  made  not  the 
slightest  difference  to  his  terrific  speed. 

Down  went  his  head  for  the  charge.  There  was  only  one 
thing  to  do  to  escape  certain  death,  and  so,  waiting  until  he 
was  quite  close,  I  flung  my  sun-helmet  in  his  face  and  threw 
myself  sideways  into  the  bush  simultaneously.  The  infuriated 
beast  thundered  over  the  spot  I  had  knelt  on,  missing  me  by 
inches  as  I  lay  flat  on  the  ground,  and  only  his  great  impetus 
prevented  him  from  swerving  quickly  enough  to  catch  me  with 
his  horns.  He  crashed  into  some  young  trees  and  stood  still, 
whilst  blood  flowed  from  his  nostrils,  chest,  and  shoulder; 

60 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 


truly  the  beast  looked  terrible  in  his  rage.  I  gave  him  no 
time  to  recover,  and  another  bullet  through  the  shoulder 
finished  the  battle,  the  mighty  beast  rolling  over  dead.  It 
was  a  narrow  escape.  The  breast  shot  had  pierced  the  heart, 
and  doubtless  it  was  this  that  caused  him  to  miss  his  aim  in 
the  last  few  mad  strides ;  otherwise  the  encounter  might  have 
ended  in  a  different  manner.  In  the  light  of  after-experience, 
I  know  the  folly  of  attacking  a  buffalo  with  nothing  but  a 
carbine.  The  meat  was  a  welcome  addition  to  our  cuisine,  and 
also  made  glad  the  hearts  of  numerous  strangers  who  were 
encamped  within  a  few  miles  of  our  sleeping-place. 

On  arrival  at  Urambo,  the  capital  of  Unyamwezi,  we  were 
visited  by  the  powerful  chief,  Mirambo.  He  was  tall,  stately, 
and  looked  every  inch  a  chief.  He  carefully  scrutinised  our 
carts,  and  on  being  told  the  boat-sections  were  to  be  put 
together  on  Tanganyika,  he  remarked :  "  It  is  good  work. 
The  lake  is  large.  I  shall  call  it  my  boat,  and  you  can  ferry 
my  men  across  with  my  ivory  as  they  come  from  the  Congo ; 
and  in  exchange  I  give  you  my  country  to  hunt  in,  or  to  live 
in,  and  I  will  always  be  your  friend." 

This  was  the  mighty  Mirambo,  dreaded  by  most  tribes 
in  these  parts,  and  spoken  unfavourably  of  by  Europeans, 
who  imagined  him  to  be  a  cruel  chief,  delighting  in  war  and 
plunder.  We  found  him  upright,  manly,  great,  and  years  of 
close  contact  with  him  proved  him  to  be  loyal  to  all  who 
merited  his  friendship.  During  the  great  trek  of  the  Zulus 
from  the  south,  a  small  number  reached  as  far  north  as 
Urambo,  and  remained  there  when  the  tribe  retreated  south- 
wards. We  found  a  small  community  still  living  near 
Urambo ;  they  are  called  Angoni,  using  the  same  hide-shields 
and  assegais  as  are  used  by  the  Zulus  of  Natal.  Mirambo 
hired  these  warlike  people  for  purposes  of  war,  as  they  were 
much  feared  by  the  neighbouring  people.  The  great  Mirambo, 
since  dead,  left  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  He  stood  out 
as  one  of  the  most  progressive  chiefs  of  his  day,  and  the 

61 


THE  MIGHTY  MIRAMBO 


complete  obedience  of  his  robust  subjects  testified  to  the  fact 
that  they  could  understand  and  respect  justice  and  power 
as  embodied  in  their  great  chief. 

On  January  16  we  pitched  our  tents  close  to  the  capital, 
having  completed  a  march  of  600  miles  from  the  coast,  and 
200  more  would  bring  us  to  Tanganyika. 

We  had  now  arrived  near  to  the  first  slave-depot  of  Un- 
yanyembe.  Arabs,  financed  by  wealthy  merchants  in  Zanzibar, 
ruled  the  district  and  kept  up  communication  with  the  other 
depots  at  Ujiji,  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  Upper  Congo,  for- 
warding large  quantities  of  ivory,  and  annual  consignments  of 
slaves,  to  the  coast. 

It  was  against  this  organised  slave-raiding  system  that  the 
chief,  Mirambo,  with  whom  we  were  staying,  was  frequently  at 
war.  He  told  us  he  would  not  tolerate  their  rule  in  any  form, 
because  of  the  usual  methods  they  employed — first,  to  under- 
mine the  chief's  authority ;  and  finally,  to  capture  the  villages 
one  by  one  by  creating  jealousies,  inciting  the  people  to 
quarrel,  and  crushing  in  detail  the  whole  tribe.  At  the  time 
we  arrived  it  appeared  as  if  many  long  years  would  elapse 
before  this  powerful  Arab  organisation  could  be  abolished. 
The  sources  from  which  slaves  were  taken  must  be  occupied, 
raided  tribes  lived  amongst,  and  seeds  of  freedom  sown  in  their 
midst.  In  fact,  these  people  must  be  taught  that  it  is  not 
simply  a  misfortune  to  become  a  slave  but  a  real  disgj^ace,  and 
Europe  must  be  compelled  to  come  to  their  rescue. 

The  Arab  system  extended  to  great  distances,  and,  octopus- 
like, grasped  every  small  unprotected  village  community, 
making  the  whole  country  a  vast  battlefield  wherein  no  one 
was  safe  outside  the  stockades.  That  I  should  live  to  see  this 
inhuman  svstem  utterly  abolished  never  entered  my  imagina- 
tion.   Yet  our  very  presence  sealed  its  fate. 

On  resuming  the  journey  westward  we  passed  numerous 
villages,  out  of  which  groups  of  young  people  ran  to  witness 
what  to  them  was  an  event  of  importance.    We  had  come 

62 


African  Mimicry 

A  native  having  seen  a  Hussar's  busby,  tries  to  go  one  better  by 
making  a  much  lighter  one  out  of  leaves  and  adding  another  plume. 


In  the  Wake  of  the  Slave  Raiders 

A  village  raided  by  slave  hunters,  who  have  partially  destroyed  the  huts  and  pitched  away  the 
cooking-pots.  A  solitary  individual  has  crept  back  from  his  hiding-place  to  find  his  home  desolate 
and  all  his  relatives  gone  into  slavery.    Suicide  is  often  the  sequel. 


NATIVE  AND  LION 


from  the  salt  sea,  of  which  every  one  had  heard  from  the 
men  who  had  been  there  and  had  thus  qualified  themselves 
for  citizenship.  Food  was  easily  purchased,  and  all  seemed 
very  happy.  None  of  the  villages  were  stockaded,  which 
showed  general  security  throughout  the  country.  They 
were  too  strong  to  be  successfully  attacked.  The  lesson  had 
been  learned  that  to  ensure  peace  you  must  be  prepared  for 
a  war  of  defence. 

As  we  travelled  away  from  the  capital,  and  the  villages 
became  more  exposed  to  attack  near  the  frontier,  every 
town  was  surrounded  by  a  stockade  consisting  of  poles  about 
ten  feet  ihigh,  closely  bound  together,  and  inserted  into  the 
earth;  along  the  top  of  them  thorns  are  often  added. 
Where  lions  infest  the  neighbourhood  this  plan  is  always 
adopted,  although  they  have  been  known  to  leap  over  and 
tear  off  the  grass  of  huts  at  night,  killing  the  occupants. 
Game  was  abundant  everywhere,  but  the  numerous  pits  dug 
for  the  capture  of  wild  animals  made  it  risky  to  hunt, 
except  with  great  care. 

It  has  frequently  been  stated  that  the  lion,  if  he  springs 
at  and  misses  his  prey,  will  retire  disgusted.  We  had  a 
good  opportunity  of  proving  this  whilst  encamped  in  a 
rocky  defile.  About  four  inl  the  afternoon  a  porter  rushed 
into  camp  excitedly  shouting,  "  Lions,  master,  lions !  "  Of 
course  every  one  was  instantly  on  the  alert  and  rifles  seized, 
as,  from  the  manner  of  the  man,  we  took  it  the  lions  were 
visible.  On  his  calming  down  we  extracted  from  him  the 
following  story : — 

"  I  was  cutting  firewood  in  the  forest  near  here,  when, 
on  looking  up,  I  saw  a  lion  creeping  towards  a  small  ant- 
heap.  He  stopped  directly  I  ceased  chopping  the  wood, 
and  I  saw  him  turn  up  his  upper  lip  like  our  village  dog 
does  when  going  to  bite.  I  had  no  companions,  and  only 
this  little  axe.  If  there  had  been  trees  I  could  easily  have 
climbed  up  out  of  danger,  but  there  were  thorn  bushes  and 

65 


NATIVE  AND  LION 


rocks  everywhere,  except  in  the  clear  space  where  I  was. 
I  knew  it  was  no  use  to  run,  as  the  lion  always  catches 
you.  Allah  Akbar !  ^  Before  I  had  time  to  do  anything 
the  lion  crept  up  on  to  the  ant-heap,  and,  growling  all  the 
time,  sprang  right  towards  me.  I  was  too  far  away,  so, 
lifting  up  my  axe  as  if  to  strike  him,  I  stood  but  did  not 
move.  The  lion  then  went  away  into  the  bush,  and,  as  soon 
as  he  was  hidden  from  sight,  I  ran  here." 

*'  MVongo,  bwana ! "  (liar,  master !)  exclaimed  our 
head-man. 

"  Lions  are  not  such  fools,"  added  a  chorus  of  voices. 

The  man,  however,  was  certainly  scared,  and  implored 
us  to  go  and  see.  We  four  Europeans  went,  taking  the 
fellow  with  us.  Remarkable  as  it  may  appear,  we  verified 
the  statement  he  had  made  about  the  lion's  spring.  We 
traced  the  lion's  spoor  up  to  a  small  ant-heap,  on  the  top  of 
which  the  earth  was  torn  up  by  the  force  of  his  paws  when 
springing  at  the  man.  From  there  to  where  he  alighted  was 
exactly  twenty  feet,  the  height  of  the  ant-heap  being  five 
feet.  He  failed  to  reach  the  man  by  only  five  yards,  as  the 
chopped  wood  indicated  where  he  had  been  standing.  From 
there  the  spoor  led  into  the  thorn  bushes  at  right  angles; 
and  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  the  lion  actually  left  the 
man,  either  through  disgust  at  missing  him,  or,  what  is 
perhaps  more  likely,  because  the  man  stood  still  and  challenged 
combat.  The  lion  naturally  takes  his  prey  at  a  disadvantage 
— gets  in  "  the  first  blow,"  as  we  term  it.  It  is  well  established 
by  all  hunters  that  lions,  unless  wounded,  never  deliberately 
give  open  battle,  as,  for  instance,  will  the  rhinoceros.  We 
beat  around  for  some  time  but  failed  to  dislodge  his  majesty, 
who  was  probably  living  between  the  large  rocks.  Had  the 
man  run  away,  he  would  certainly  have  been  caught  in  the 
second  or  third  leap  of  the  lion  which  would  have  followed. 

1  "  Allah  Akbar  !  "  This  exclamation  is  always  used  by  Mohammedans 
■when  some  Europeans  would  probably  exclaim,  "  God  !" 

66 


NATIVE  AND  LION 

Tom,  who  was  always  ready  with  solutions  to  every 
problem,  and  who  never  missed  a  chance  of  excitement, 
turned  to  one  of  the  onlookers,  saying :  "  Shetani  hataki 
dawa/'    (The  devil  does  not  like  medicine.) 

"Dawa  mkali  sana,  nitamomba  mara  moja.'''  (Medicine 
is  very  fierce.  I  shall  beg  the  man  to  sell  me  some  of  his 
at  once.) 

This  was  a  typical  instance  of  the  Africans'  belief  in 
charms,  and  that  evil  reigns,  but  can  be  propitiated.  It 
never  enters  their  heads  to  imagine  that  an  omnipotent 
Creator  would  permit  an  opponent.  No !  To  them  this  life 
is  a  fight  between  nearly  equal  forces,  both  liable  to  defeat. 
They  believe  in  the  discomfiture  of  evil  spirits  by  the  inter- 
vention of  their  ancestors,  whose  assistance  may  be  obtained 
mostly  by  some  sacrifice.  To  them  the  Creator  is  beyond, 
above,  out  of  reach,  supreme  in  His  universal  Kingdom, 
knowing  no  equals.  It  was  to  the  lion-medicine  that  Tom 
was  attracted.  He  wanted  to  have  it  around  his  neck. 
Poor  little  chap !  A  time  was  soon  to  come  when,  through 
this  child-like  faith  in  charms,  he  was  to  throw  away  his 
happy  young  life. 


67 


CHAPTER  IV 


A  Greedy  Ferryman — Fetish — Ujiji  and  Lake  Tanganyika — 
Livingstone  and  Stanley — A  Whited  Sepulchre — Ivory  and 
Slaves — Launching  a  Canoe — The  People  of  the  Plain. 

A few  days'  travel  brought  us  to  the  Malagarasi  River,  which 
flows  into  Lake  Tanganyika  south  of  Ujiji.  Its  current 
runs  in  the  rainy  season  about  five  miles  an  hour,  and, 
being  very  deep,  it  is  never  fordable.  Fish  are  plentiful,  whilst 
crocodiles  in  considerable  numbers  infest  every  stretch  of  back- 
water, making  it  out  of  the  question  to  cross  by  swimming.  We 
had  expected  this  difficulty,  and  the  problem  of  how  to  get  our 
heavy  boat-sections  across  caused  some  anxiety.  The  ferry  was 
in  the  hands  of  a  petty  chief  of  the  Wavinza,  who,  living  on  the 
opposite  side,  owed  no  allegiance  to  our  friend  Mirambo,  but  on 
the  contrary  sought  to  annoy  his  frontier  subjects  whenever 
opportunity  presented  itself.  The  greedy  old  warrior,  wearing 
a  skin  cap,  was  superintendent  of  the  canoes,  which  were  almost 
as  difficult  to  manage  as  a  narrow  racing  skiff.  How  he  would 
convey  across  the  river  both  loads  and  men,  was  not  easy  to 
understand. 

Long  and  vexatious  were  the  preliminary  negotiations,  and 
more  than  once  he  ordered  away  the  canoes,  as  the  price  of  his 
work  was  disputed  by  us.  Two  yards  of  calico  per  load  was  at 
last  agreed  upon,  and,  after  some  hours,  all  were  safe  on  the 
opposite  bank  except  the  carts. 

Fearing  the  old  man,  on  seeing  these,  would  refuse  the 
responsibility  of  their  transport  in  such  tiny  craft  and  perhaps 
remove  the  canoes,  we  seized  the  whole  lot,  and  by  lashing 
poles  across  them,  made  a  strong  platform  on  to  which  the 
vehicles  and  their  precious  burdens  were  secured.    The  wily 

68 


FETISH 


natives  looked  on  without  comment ;  but  when  all  was  ready 
for  a  start  they  demanded  double  payment,  refusing  to  be 
responsible  for  loss  if  the  canoes  capsized.  We  paid  at  once, 
and  without  mishap  negotiated  our  most  formidable  obstacle. 
The  blue  waters  of  the  great  lake  we  knew  would  be  visible  in  a 
few  days,  repaying  us  for  all  these  uncomfortable  incidents ;  and 
our  men  went  almost  mad  around  their  camp  fires  that  night  as 
they  dramatically  described  how  their  entry  into  Ujiji  would 
astonish  the  Arabs. 

The  Wavinza  presented  a  marked  contrast  to  Mirambo''s 
people.  Their  villages  were  untidy,  more  scattered,  and  many 
wrecked  by  slave-raiders.  One  extremely  bad  result  of  this 
was  to  ►drive  the  men  on  to  the  road  as  highway  robbers,  in 
order  to  support  their  families.  Several  of  our  men  were 
severely  handled,  and  it  was  only  by  posting  strong  guards  at 
intervals  we  were  able  to  march  with  any  safety.  All  through 
this  harassed  country  it  was  interesting  to  notice  the  numerous 
little  spirit-houses  erected  to  ancestors  whose  protection  they 
needed  so  much.  The  great  wealth  and  general  safety  of 
Mirambo's  tribe  apparently  called  for  no  special  appeal  to  the 
spirit-world.  They  were  happy,  the  sun  was  shining,  there 
were  few  tribal  clouds.  But  across  this  river  the  shadows  of 
privation  and  war,  all  caused  by  slavery,  had  fallen,  and  in 
their  adversity  they  thought  of  gods.  I  could  not  help  com- 
paring this  natural  action  with  those  of  other  countries. 
Humanity  seems  everywhere  inclined  to  act  as  the  Wavinza. 

I  had  noticed  heaps  of  little  stones  and  sticks  piled  up 
either  at  the  end  of  deserts,  or  forests,  or  on  hill-tops.  That 
these  had  some  special  significance  was  certain,  as  the  natives 
never  do  such  things  merely  as  a  pastime.  On  inquiry  I 
received  various  explanations  from  old  porters. 

One  described  the  pile  as  meaning  a  barrier  erected  by  the 
traveller  against  "  a  following  devil."  Another  said  practically 
the  same:  " The  snake  crawls  around  it  and  is  delayed.  The 
lion  smells  it  and  fears  a  trap.    The  traveller  may  rest  his 

69 


FETISH 


burden  on  it  without  stooping.  An  enemy  fears  medicine 
buried  underneath.''  Doubtless  there  are  many  other  ex- 
planations in  different  tribes,  but  I  think  the  following  is  the 
best.  After  a  hard  day's  hunting,  and  consequently  being 
very  tired,  I  had  to  climb  a  steep,  rocky  hill,  accompanied  by 
only  one  gun-bearer.  The  sun  was  scorching  our  faces,  and, 
just  before  reaching  the  summit,  I  saw  the  man  pick  up  a  stone 
and  add  it  to  one  of  these  cairns  as  he  reached  the  hill-top. 
The  cairn  was  exactly  on  the  top  of  the  ridge.  I  rested ;  we 
were  both  exhausted  for  the  moment. 

"What  did  you  throw^  that  stone  on  the  pile  for?"  I 
asked.  The  question  seemed  to  puzzle  him ;  he  did  not  know 
what  I  was  driving  at. 

"  Nothing,"  replied  he. 

"  Don't  answer  me  so  stupidly,"  I  said.  "  You  never  do 
anything  without  a  reason.    Tell  me  why  you  did  it." 

Note  his  reason,  for  it  seems  to  carry  one  back  across  the 
centuries. 

"  Was  not  the  sun  hot  ? — was  not  the  hill  steep  ?  I  was  tired, 
but  I  had  strength  to  reach  the  top.  I  added  the  stone  to  the 
pile,  at  the  same  time  saying  to  myself  that  trouble  is  over,  and 
— may  I  reach  the  top  of  every  hill  I  start  to  clijnb.'''' 

It  was  a  beautiful  idea !  My  mind  rapidly  condensed  the 
train  of  thought  into — assistance  rendered,  gratitude,  public 
acknowledgment.  Away  beyond  those  stones  on  the  hill-top 
I  saw  another  pile,  erected  by  an  Oriental,  and  fancy  heard 
him  call  the  place  "  Mizpah." 

Is  this  the  true  meaning  of  these  cairns  met  with  all  over 
Africa,  either  before  or  after  a  difficult  part  of  the  road  ? 
The  Wavinza,  through  whose  country  we  were  now  travelling, 
must  have  had  numerous  causes  for  doubting  the  power  of 
their  ancestors  to  help  them,  as  ruin  was  everywhere. 

The  Lusigi  River  gave  little  trouble  to  cross,  most  of  the 
heavy  loads  being  got  over  by  means  of  ropes  and  blocks 
similar  to  those  employed  by  coastguard  men  when  using  the 

70 


UJIJI  AND  LAKE  TANGANYIKA 


mortar  and  rocket  apparatus  at  wrecks  on  the  coast.  Messen- 
gers were  dispatched  to  Ujiji,  which  was  built  on  the  shores 
of  Tanganyika.  The  greatest  Arab  slave-centre  was  about 
to  be  entered  by  men  who  intended  to  drive  into  it  Living- 
stone's wedge  and  utterly  destroy  its  power. 

The  final  march  has  been  described  by  a  companion : 
"  Tanganyika  was  at  hand.  The  view  came  in  sight  at  last — 
just  a  narrow  strip  of  the  great  lake  gleaming  in  the  sun, 
in  the  distance  between  the  trees,  and  enlivening  each  member 
of  the  party  with  the  assurance  that  to-morrow  we  should 
be  in  Ujiji.  For  hours  we  crept  through  muddy  paths,  the 
haunts  of  hippopotami,  until  we  emerged  upon  the  pleasant- 
looking  Ruiche  River,  the  last  we  had  to  cross.  Next  day 
we  slowly  marched  into  Ujiji,  a  compact  body,  the  firing  of 
guns  and  beating  of  drums  awakening  the  inhabitants  to 
come  and  look — and  well  they  might,  for  they  had  never  seen 
such  a  sight  before.  Our  journey  of  825  miles  was  ended, 
and  the  subsequent  arrival  of  200  more  loads  completed 
the  success  of  the  largest  East  African  Expedition.  Stanley, 
years  before,  took  seven  months  to  get  to  Ujiji ;  we  had  taken 
three,  showing  clearly  that  facilities  for  transport  were  in- 
creasing rapidly." 

The  human  donkeys,  harnessed  to  their  carts,  went  mad 
with  excitement.  Nothing  had  been  able  to  deter  these  brave 
fellows.  Not  one  had  deserted  over  that  long  and  difficult 
journey,  and,  unable  to  restrain  themselves,  they  rushed  down 
on  to  the  sands  with  their  carts,  flung  themselves  en  masse  into 
Tanganyika,  shouting  to  its  waves :  "  We  have  brought  you  a 
child  from  the  white  man's  land,  to  ride  on  your  back,  to 
breathe  your  winds,  to  sleep  on  your  breast — God  is  great !  " 

It  was  the  proudest  moment  of  my  African  life. 

There  was  just  a  slight  mist  coming  over  the  lake  as  I 

gazed  at  this  scene — or,  was  it  not  possible,  my  eyes  were 

dimmed  by  excessive  joy  ? 

Ascending  the  rising  ground  to  the  east  I  let  myself  feast 

73 


LIVINGSTONE  AND  STANLEY 


on  the  sight.  The  mighty  Tanganyika  lay  at  my  feet,  extend- 
ing for  hundreds  of  miles.  The  dark  mountain  range  of  Goma, 
on  the  opposite  side,  was  visible  about  forty-five  miles  distant. 
Beyond  this  I  could  picture  the  Congo,  with  its  mysteries, 
cannibalism,  and  wealth.  I  tried  to  enter  into  Livingstone's 
thoughts  as  he  stood  here,  wondering  whether  this  mass  of 
water  was  the  source  of  the  Nile.  I  knew  that  at  this  spot 
Africa's  greatest  missionary  explorer  was  found  by  the  intrepid 
Stanley.  It  was  an  historic  spot.  Here  centred  all  the  villainy 
which  for  centuries  had  cruelly  oppressed  the  coloured  races, 
and  here  the  Arabs  were,  as  they  thought,  established  in  their 
impregnable  fortress.  Little  did  they  imagine  that  yonder 
howling  crowd  of  East  Coast  porters  had  deposited  in  their 
midst  a  British  ensigu  which,  in  company  with  those  of 
Germany  and  of  Belgium,  would  soon  fly  over  the  ruins  of 
their  vile  trade-centres. 

Beside  me,  whilst  engaged  in  this  reverie,  stood  a 
white-robed  Arab.  He  appeared  to  be  interested  in  my 
evident  joy,  and  with  a  polite  bow,  resting  his  hands  on  his 
breast,  said :  "  God  is  very  great.  Your  journey  is  over. 
You  are  glad  ! 

"  Yes,''  I  answered,  ''we  are  pleased,  for  it  is  a  long  way  from 
the  coast."  Wondering  if  Livingstone  had  left  any  lasting 
impression  on  these  men,  I  ventured  the  following  questions  : — 

"  Did  you  meet  Livingstone  ?  Were  you  here  when  he 
came  ?  " 

"  If  you  are  meaning  a  white  man,  I  do  not  know  him  by 
that  name,"  replied  he. 

I  was  disappointed — but  it  was  only  temporary. 

Approaching  the  ^subject  in  another  manner,  I  added : 
"  Don't  you  remember  a  man  with  a  peaked  cap,  who  carried 
medicines  about ;  who  was  always  looking  for,  and  asking 
questions  about,  rivers  and  lakes ;  who  never  purchased  slaves 
or  ivory  ?  Have  you  never  heard  he  was  met  here  by  an  other 
white  man  named  Stanley  ?  " 

74 


A  WHITED  SEPULCHRE 


I  saw  the  shot  had  hit  the  mark,  for  a  smile  played 
across  his  face  as  he  extended  his  hand  to  me,  exclaiming : 

"You  must  mean — Baba  Daud  and  Bula  Matali ! 

"Those  are  the  men!"  I  replied.  "Father  David,"  and 
"  The  Stone  Breaker  " ! 

Civilisation  and  philanthropy  could  not  have  wished  for  a 
better  name  for  their  immortal  Livingstone  than  that  bestowed 
upon  him  in  Darkest  Africa  by  an  inhuman  slave-trading 
Arab.  His  brave  discoverer,  Stanley,  was  called  the  "  Stone 
Breaker"  on  account  of  his  having  blasted  the  rocks  in  the 
Congo  to  clear  the  river  for  navigation. 

Ujiji  town  was  really  ruled  by  the  Arabs,  although  a 
native  chief  was  nominally  its  head.  Most  of  the  powerful 
and  wealthy  Arabs  lived  here,  superintending  the  transport 
of  ivory  and  slaves  which  came  from  the  west.  Both  the 
famous  Tip-pu-Tib  and  his  partner,  Rumaliza,  had  their 
principal  homes  in  the  town.  The  former  associated  himself 
with,  and  assisted  all,  the  early  travellers,  the  latter  eventually 
fought  against  the  Belgians  for  the  Upper  Congo. 

The  country  to  the  east  of  Ujiji  had  been  long  since 
denuded  of  ivory,  and  the  enormous  wealth  which  entered 
Zanzibar  did  not  come,  as  some  imagined,  from  the  immediate 
Hinterland,  but  was  collected  from  the  regions  west  of 
Tanganyika,  where  elephants  abounded  and  ivory  could  be 
obtained  for  a  trifle.  At  this  powerful  centre  of  trade  we 
were  nothing  less  than  guests  of  the  Arabs.  Mighty  merchant 
princes,  who  lived  in  a  curious  mixture  of  luxury  and  squalor, 
invited  us  to  tiffin.  One  walked  over  tusks  of  ivory  scattered 
about  their  courtyards  representing  thousands  of  pounds. 
Diseased  slaves  moved  about  in  close  proximity  to  gaudily 
clothed  women  of  the  household.  The  slave-chain  and  its 
captives  were  in  evidence  everywhere,  whilst  brutal  half-caste 
fighting  men  lounged  about  the  verandahs  of  the  most  wealthy. 
The  whole  appearance  of  the  place  was  like  a  whited  sepulchre, 
presided  over  by  smooth-talking,  clean,  perfumed,  and  polite 


IVORY  AND  SLAVES 


Arabs,  who,  in  their  conduct  towards  us,  were  always  courteous 
and  generous.  Out  of  respect  for  us  the  slave-market  was 
abolished,  although  active  slave-trading  was  carried  on  in 
the  town. 

Strolling  along  the  sands  one  evening  I  came  upon  eight 
dying  slaves,  who  were  suffering  from  smallpox.  They  were 
beyond  hope,  and  had  been  placed  close  to  the  water  that 
the  crocodiles  might  carry  them  off  when  the  sun  set.  No 
one  was  allowed  to  go  near  them  under  penalty  of  being 
shot  by  a  soldier  who  kept  guard.  I  passed  three  other  bodies 
partly  eaten  by  hyenas.  It  was  the  usual  manner  of  getting 
rid  of  slaves  who  were  of  no  value.  To  a  vounsc  Arab  who 
accompanied  me,  I  remarked  : 

"  Why  don't  you  endeavour  to  cure  the  smallpox  and  save 
the  life.?" 

"  Oh ! "  replied  he,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  "  it's 
not  worth  it.  They  are  Pagans,  and  we  have  had  all  the 
expense  and  trouble  of  bringing  them  from  the  Congo  for 
nothing.    Who  will  carry  their  load  of  ivory  to  the  coast  .f^" 

Ivory  !  always  ivory  !  What  a  curse  the  elephant  has  been 
to  Africans !  By  himself  the  slave  did  not  pay  to  transport, 
but  plus  ivory  he  was  a  paying  game. 

The  Wajiji,  amongst  whom  we  lived,  were  bright, 
industrious  people.  They  had  large  markets  every  day  where 
palm-oil,  ground  nuts,  and  maize  flour  could  be  bartered  in 
exchange  for  calico,  beads,  salt,  or  brass-wire.  An  enterprising 
man  would  purchase  a  goat,  cut  it  into  small  pieces,  and  open 
a  miniature  butcher's  shop.  Another  invested  in  a  jar  of 
palm-oil  (which  is  made  in  large  quantities  in  the  northern 
districts)  and  retailed  small  saucerfuls,  sufficient  to  make  a 
light  for  one  night.  Bananas  in  great  quantities  were  sold 
at  about  2d.  for  a  bunch  of  one  hundred.  Fowls  ranged  at 
from  2d.  to  3d.  each.  New-laid  eggs,  one  for  a  needle  or  two 
for  a  teaspoonful  of  salt.  The  staple  food  of  all  natives  is 
porridge,  made  either  from  the  flour  of  cassava  or  maize,  with 

76 


THE  LAUNCH  OF  A  CANOE 


a  little  relish  such  as  meat,  fish,  or  native  spinach.  Fish  in 
large  quantities  were  brought  to  market  every  morning ;  the 
most  tasty  are  the  sangala,  which  resemble  cod,  and  in  taste 
are  not  unlike  salmon.  I  have  known  these  to  scale  90  lbs., 
and  it  is  quite  common  to  see  fish  weighing  anything  from 
10  to  50  lbs.  each.  They  may  be  caught  with  the  ordinary 
spoon-bait,  which  they  take  readily  if  the  sun  is  shining,  and 
afford  excellent  sport,  fighting  like  salmon;  but  you  must  fish 
in  deep  water,  in  a  canoe.  They  may  be  seen  in  great  numbers 
leaping  out  of  the  water  like  bonito,  and  are  not  found  in  Lake 
Nyasa.  It  is  a  pretty  sight  at  night  to  see  the  hundreds  of 
small  lights  carried  by  the  fishermen  to  attract  the  shoals  of 
whitebait,  which  they  scoop  up  with  a  net  alongside  the 
canoe.  Seine-fishing  is  practised';  but  the  crocodiles  in  many 
places  are  so  numerous  that  they  follow  up  the  net,  and  tear  it 
into  pieces  whilst  devouring  the  fish. 

The  best  canoes  are  dug  out  of  immense  trees  which  grow 
on  the  west  coast;  some  are  150  feet  high.  These,  when 
roughly  adzed,  are  dragged  down  the  mountains  to  the  water, 
where  the  village  medicine-man,  for  a  fee,  performs  an  elaborate 
ceremony  over  the  newly  born  infant,  as  he  calls  it.  By  the  aid 
of  whitewash,  made  out  of  decomposed  felspar,  variegated  with 
red  tints  of  iron-oxide,  he  draws  fantastic  designs  all  over  the 
boat,  always  marking  two  immense  eyes  on  the  bow.  Charcoal 
is  used  for  the  pupils,  a  small  dot  of  whitewash  painted  in  the 
centre  to  represent  a  cataract ;  and  when  the  whole  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  broad  ring  of  white,  the  canoe  presents  more  an 
appearance  of  some  evil-eyed  dragon  than  the  fresh  innocence 
of  a  new-born  babe  !  The  Africans,  like  the  Chinese,  love  to 
draw  hideous  figures.  They  say  it  scares  away  bad  spirits. 
The  good  ones  are  not  catered  for.  It  is  the  same  idea  again. 
Drive  away  evil  agencies !  One  thing  was  certain.  It  would 
most  effectually  scare  away  any  fish  as  long  as  the  colouring 
pigment  was  visible. 

As  it  is  being  pushed  into  the  lake  by  crowds  of  boys 

77  E 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  PLAIN 


(no  adult  being  allowed  to  touch  it — youth  must,  they  say, 
baptize  youth)  the  old  man  holds  aloft  a  zebra's  tail  from 
which  palm-oil  is  dripping,  and,  rushing  into  the  water,  he 
shouts  his  blessing  in  these  words :  "  May  the  winds  you  hear 
only  sing,  not  howl.  May  the  crocodile  sleep  as  you  swim 
over  him.  May  the  hippopotamus  miss  you  if  he  charges, 
and,  when  you  sink,  may  it  be  because  the  weight  of  fishes  will 
be  too  great  to  carry.  It  is  good-bye  to  the  forest,  thou  child 
of  the  lake ! "  The  whole  company  of  men,  women,  and 
children  then  rush  wildly  into  the  water,  presenting  the 
happy  spectacle  of  human  beings  enjoying  real  fun. 

It  is  not  within  the  province  of  these  reminiscences  to  enter 
into  the  various  theories  advanced  to  account  for  the  deep 
trough  in  the  heart  of  Africa  which  contains  this  great  lake. 
Amongst  many  native  legends  the  following  is  the  best  I 
have  heard :  Many  years  ago  there  was  a  great  plain  where 
the  lake  now  is,  inhabited  by  people  called  the  Wa'nyika 
("  people  of  the  plain In  one  of  the  villages  there  was 
a  secret  spring  known  only  to  one  family,  every  member  of 
which  was  sworn  to  secrecy,  and  on  no  account  were  they  to 
let  any  one  know  where  the  well  was  situated.  A  medicine- 
man had  told  their  ancestors  that,  if  ever  a  stranger  drank 
the  water,  it  would  at  once  rise  over  the  well-top,  overflow 
the  plain,  and  drown  every  one.  One  day,  when  all  the  family 
were  absent  from  home  except  a  woman  who  was  pounding 
the  corn,  a  stranger  arrived,  saying  he  had  travelled  from 
Tanga  in  the  south  and  was  carrying  copper  to  Ujiji.  He 
was  very  tired,  and  begged  for  water.  The  woman  longed 
to  possess  the  copper  bracelets  he  was  wearing,  and,  in  ex- 
change for  them,  she  told  him  where  to  find  the  well.  No 
sooner  had  he  quenched  his  thirst  than  the  water  bubbled 
up,  overflowed  the  village  and  the  whole  plain !  The  woman 
remembered  the  old  prophecy  and  hastened  to  warn  all  to 
flee  to  the  hills,  but  too  late ;  all  were  drowned  except  the 
man  from  Tanga,  who  saved  himself  by  making  a  raft  of 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  PLAIN 


bango  reeds.  The  water  rose  until  it  became  mixed  with 
other  small  lakes,  and  this  formed  what  is  now  the  Tanga- 
n'yika,  or,  as  they  explain  it,  "  The  Tanga-man  ^  stole  the 
Nyika  (or  Plain)." 

When  our  early  explorers  discovered  this  water  it  had 
no  outlet  to  the  sea;  but  subsequently  it  burst  its  barriers, 
and  is  now  the  greatest  head-water  of  the  Congo.  During 
my  residence  on  its  shores,  it  fell  eleven  feet  in  twelve 
years.  I  leave  the  curious  reader  to  compute  the  quantity 
of  water  which  would  have  to  pass  through  this  outlet  in 
order  to  reduce  its  height  thus.  The  surface  has  been 
calculated  to  cover  thirteen  thousand  square  miles.  Truly 
it  may  be  termed  an  inland  fresh- water  sea. 

I  captured,  stained,  and  sent  to  England  a  beautiful 
medusa  which  was  floating  on  the  surface.  It  proved  to  be 
a  most  interesting  and  unique  specimen,  so  much  so  that  the 
Royal  Society  sent  out  an  expedition  to  study  the  marine 
fauna.  It  is  common  knowledge  that  several  new  shells, 
sponges,  and  fish  were  discovered,  and  the  theory  that  the  lake 
had  been  connected  with  the  sea  was  very  much  strengthened. 

A  native  rather  astonished  me  one  day  by  bringing  me  a 
large  flat  lump  of  some  black,  greasy  substance  (afterwards 
proved  to  be  bitumen).  On  inquiring  where  it  came  from, 
he  replied  : 

"From  the  forest.  It  falls  with  the  lightning.  When 
the  thunder  speaks  it  throws  this  from  the  clouds."'  Other 
Europeans  had  seen  bitumen  at  Ujiji.  One  of  the  French 
priests  had  also  noticed  it  on  their  wooden  houses ;  they  came 
to  the  conclusion  it  fell  during  atmospheric  disturbance.  I  have 
never  seen  it  floating  on  the  lake !  Where  did  it  come  from  ? 
There  are  boiling  springs  to  the  north ;  but,  up  to  the  present, 
no  one  appears  to  have  discovered  the  source  of  this  bitumen. 
Are  there  immense  reservoirs  of  mineral  oil  near  the  lake, 
waiting  to  be  used  by  future  generations  ? 

^  Katanga  is  south-west  of  Ujiji,  and  contains  vast  deposits  of  copper. 

79 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  PLAIN 


I  will  not  tire  the  reader  by  describing  the  different  tribes 
who  live  in  these  regions  as  they  are  very  much  intermarried, 
and,  although  retaining  distinctive  names,  they  have  for  the 
most  part  the  same  characteristics.  We  may  roughly  divide 
them  into  two  sections.  Part  live  in  the  hills  and  keep 
cattle.  The  remainder  inhabit  the  lake  shore,  many  being 
fishermen.  In  nearly  all  cases  the  meat-eating  tribes  rule 
over  those  who  live  at  a  lower  altitude,  subsisting  on  fish  and 
grain.  Numbers  of  the  northern  tribes  are  skilful  in  the 
manipulation  of  iron  ore,  which  they  smelt  in  rude  furnaces. 
Spears  of  all  sizes  are  forged,  which  would  in  no  way  disgrace 
a  European  blacksmith. 

On  one  occasion,  after  a  native  had  finished  a  spear  I  had 
ordered,  he  asked  :  "  Can  your  people  work  iron  as  good  as 
that?" 

I  despatched  Tom  for  my  housewife,  and,  extracting  a 
sewing-needle,  handed  it  to  the  blacksmith,  saying : 

"  Yes !  Our  people  make  many  fine  things.  Look  at  that ! 
Feel  its  point ;  is  it  not  sharp  and  smooth  ?  " 

He  felt  the  point,  examining  the  eye,  and  placing  his  hand 
over  his  mouth — a  sign  of  astonishment — asked  : 

"  May  I  keep  this  ?  " 

"You  may,"  I  answered,  and  passing  a  piece  of  thread 
through  the  eye,  I  tied  it  around  his  neck,  hoping  it  might 
become  of  use  if  ever  he  or  his  descendants  wore  softer  raiment 
than  the  old  stiff*  goat-skin  which  was  supposed  to  be  hiding 
his  nakedness. 

He  probably  looked  on  the  gift  as  a  charm  against  death, 
and,  if  not  lost,  it  will  be  handed  down  as  the  "  white  man's 
medicine." 


80 


CHAPTER  V 


Opposition  of  the  Natives — Launch  of  the  Morning  Star — Tip- 
pu-TiB — The  Lofu  River — Building  a  Steam  Vessel — A 
Tragedy — Rugaruga  Bullies. 

THREE  months'  residence  in  Ujiji  had  not  elapsed  ere 
we  crossed  diplomatic  swords  with  the  Arabs,  opening 
what  eventually  proved  to  be  a  duel  to  the  death.  The 
game  commenced  by  their  assuring  us  of  their  anxiety  to  protect 
our  interests,  and  ourselves,  from  the  wild  natives.  We  were 
informed  our  wishes  were  to  them  commands,  and  their  ser- 
vices were  at  our  disposal  both  in  peace  and  war.  An  Arab, 
like  the  lion,  is  most  dangerous  when  silently  stalking  his 
prey.  With  his  curved  dagger  drawn,  and  his  tongue  hurling 
threats  at  you,  he  is  not  half  so  near  to  cutting  your  throat  as 
when  protesting  eternal  friendship.  Secret  conferences,  we 
knew,  were  being  held  at  night  in  their  enclosures.  Some  pre- 
sentiment of  danger  disturbed  their  hitherto  serene  monopoly 
of  the  traffic  in  humanity.  This  steel  boat  must  be  a  small 
man-o'-war,  intended  to  destroy  the  slave  dhows.  We  were, 
they  supposed,  disguised  servants  of  the  British  Consul  at 
Zanzibar.  In  fact,  they  instinctively  felt  we  had  thrown  down 
the  glove  in  their  very  midst,  not  as  a  direct  challenge  to  fight 
with  rifles  (we  had  only  sporting  weapons),  but  rather  as  com- 
petitors in  the  struggle  for  supremacy.  We  were  seeking  to 
obtain  not  only  the  country,  but  the  right  to  lay  down  laws 
which,  they  knew,  spelt  ruin  to  their  autocracy.  Such  were 
the  deductions  we  were  able  to  make  from  reports  brought  by 
loyal  men  in  our  service. 

Not  caring  for,  or  even  seeing  the  use  of,  open  warfare, 
they  resorted  to  "  pin-pricks.'"    It  was  necessary  to  erect  a 

81 


OPPOSITION  OF  THE  NATIVES 


grass  shelter  from  the  sun,  under  which  to  build  our  vessel. 
At  first  this  was  not  permitted.  "  Oh  no  !  "  they  exclaimed ; 
"  it  is  against  Arab  customs  to  allow  strangers  to  build  any 
house  in  the  country;  it  means  taking  possession."  On  being 
politely  requested  to  furnish  umbrellas,  and  men  to  hold  them 
over  our  heads  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  whilst  we  screwed 
up  bolts  and  iron  plates,  they  were  brought  to  reason  and 
saw  the  absurdity  of  their  position,  but  the  shed  must  be 
destroyed  simultaneously  with  the  launching  of  the  boat. 

The  actual  work  of  bolting  together  the  metal  sections 
was  full  of  interest  to  both  Arabs  and  natives.  A  steel  boat 
was,  of  course,  a  novelty.  They  tapped  the  side  with  their 
spears,  declaring  the  hippopotamus  would  thrust  his  tusk 
through  it.  An  old  Arab,  who  was  really  our  worst  enemy, 
praised  the  work,  checking  his  young  people  when  they  made 
disparaging  remarks  about  its  being  only  a  kettle. 

No  sooner  was  the  boat  completed  than  he  flatly  declined 
to  give  his  permission  for  it  to  be  moved  into  the  lake. 
No !  it  must  remain  on  the  sand.  "  If  you  go  away  from 
here  we  shall  not  be  able  to  protect  you,  and,  if  you  are 
killed,  what  answer  shall  we  send  to  the  Sultan  at  Zanzibar  ? 

They  really  wanted  to  keep  us  under  their  observation. 
We  must  not  be  allowed  to  get  at  the  ears  of  the  thousands 
who,  up  to  the  present,  had  not  learnt  to  know  what  freedom 
meant.  It  was  the  day  of  finesse !  The  foil,  not  rapier, 
had  to  be  used  at  present.  Later  on,  the  sword  and  rifle 
were  to  come  into  full  play.  This  initial  challenge  was  met 
by  our  at  once  assenting  to  the  wisdom  of  their  realising 
the  great  responsibility  for  our  safety  which  rested  on  their 
shoulders.  We  pointed  out  that  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar 
would  also  hold  them  answerable  for  wasting  our  time,  and 
that  a  special  mail  would  be  sent  to  the  coast,  conveying 
to  his  Highness  our  regrets  that  his  subjects  at  Ujiji  had 
not  been  able  to  obey  his  orders  to  permit  us  to  travel 
wherever  we  wished  through  his  dominions.    And  further, 

82 


A  Slave  Dhow 

A  slave  dhow  dug  out  of  a  large  tree  in  the  Goma  mountains  opposite  Ujiji,  and  built 
up  at  the  sides.  Sails  are  made  of  American  calico.  Two  Arabs  are  on  the  quarter-deck, 
and  a  sailor  is  bringing  on  shore  a  tusk  of  ivory.  These  vessels  sail  swiftly  before  the 
wind,  often  escaping  from  the  pinnaces  of  our  men-of-war. 


1 


The  '-Morning  Star"  at  Anchor 

The  "  Morning^  Star "  was  dragged  overland  from  Zanzibar  to  Ujiji,  823  miles.  The  s.s, 
"Good  News"  is  in  a  dry  dock,  quarried  out  of  rock,  floated  by  pith-wood  after  being  wrecked. 
Salvage  operations  took  four  months,  as  natives  had  to  work  under  water.  The  Author  is  in 
white,  and  near  him  is  Alexander  Carson,  b.sc,  who  died  near  this  spot.  From  the  opposite  hills 
Livingstone  first  saw  the  Lake. 


LAUNCH  OF  THE  "MORNING  STAR" 


as  it  would  be  at  least  five  months  before  a  reply  could  be 
received,  we  were  enclosing  the  account  of  our  expenses, 
which  we  presumed  would  be  levied  by  the  Sultan  on  the 
Governor  of  Ujiji. 

Down  came  their  house  of  cards !  Touch  an  Arab's 
pocket,  and  he  is  like  other  people.  Next  morning  we 
received  intimation  that  "  taking  into  consideration,  &c.  &c. '' 
— the  usual  universal  palaver — "  we  might  launch  the  vessel ! '' 

Victory  number  one.  Launched  she  was,  the  very  next 
day !  Surrounded  by  hundreds  of  natives,  and  all  the  Arabs 
in  full  dress,  we  sent  into  the  blue  waters  of  Tanganyika  the 
Moiiimg  Star. 

The  obnoxious  building  shed  was  immediately  razed  to 
the  ground,  according  to  our  promise.  The  fatted  calf  was 
killed  and  eaten  by  perhaps  the  most  picturesque  guests 
imaginable.  Gold-embroidered  coats  adorned  the  proud 
Arabs.  Filthy,  greasy  skins,  and  bark  cloth,  hung  around 
the  limbs  of  the  Wajiji.  Naked  boys  crammed  rice  into 
their  mouths  with  the  usual  exuberance  of  youth.  Vicious, 
bloodthirsty-looking  scoundrels  fired  guns  and  danced  on 
the  sand,  performing  mad  evolutions  of  mimic  warfare, 
spearing  imaginary  foes.  Close  at  hand,  sitting  gracefully 
on  the  lake,  our  little  vessel  danced  over  the  waves  as  if 
eager  to  commence  its  mission.  The  red  ensign  flying  from 
the  mast-head  seemed  to  fling  out  its  silent  challenge  to 
the  Arab  colours  which  floated  from  the  huge  slave-dhows 
at  anchor  in  the  roadstead.  What  a  scene  to  remember. 
The  immediate  actors  were  unknown  to  the  great  outside 
world,  and  yet  who  would  not  be  proud  to  have  been  present 
at  this  birthday  of  freedom  on  distant  Tanganyika. 

As  may  be  imagined,  various  and  numerous  were  the 
questions  asked. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  saucepan  vessel  ?  " 

"  Are  you  going  to  carry  ivory  ?  " 

"  No ! " 

85 


TIP-PU-TIB 


"  Slaves?" 
"  No!'' 

"  Is  it  for  war  ?  " 
"  No!" 

''Then  what  is  it  for?'' 

There  was  only  one  answer,  and  it  was  not  understood. 
How  could  it  be  ? 

"  We  are  going  to  show  the  natives  how  to  live  !  " 
Live  I    Why,  they  live  for  us;  they  are  made  to  be  our 
slaves,"  they  exclaimed. 

"  Hawa  wazungu  wapambavu  ! "  ("  these  white  men  are 
foolish  people").  Fancy  coming  all  the  way  here,  and 
bringing  a  boat  to  help  pagans  !  It  was  too  ridiculous  for 
words. 

That  evening,  from  the  verandah,  I  gazed  down  at  the 
lake  just  as  the  sun  was  disappearing  behind  the  Goma 
mountains.  Long  shadows  were  being  cast  by  the  tall 
cocoanut-palms,  and  they  seemed  to  me  to  illustrate  the 
real  meaning  of  the  day's  events.  It  was  a  day  of  shadows 
thrown  across  the  pathway  of  tyranny.  We  had  not  the 
heart  to  haul  down  the  grand  old  British  flag,  emblem  of 
liberty  and  justice,  but  left  it  at  the  mast-head  all  that 
night.  As  I  rose  to  retire  to  rest,  I  raised  my  cap  in 
respectful  salute  to  the  dear  old  flag,  for  it  was  the  first 
time  I  had  seen  it  fluttering  over  a  British  craft  in  Darkest 
Africa. 

I  must  now  introduce  the  principal  Arabs  who  will  figure 
in  this  drama  of  Central  Africa. 

The  first,  and  by  far  the  most  important,  was  the  great 
Tip-pu-Tib.  Although  not  of  pure  Arab  descent,  he  was  the 
most  influential.  His  activity  was  astonishing.  He  possessed 
a  frank,  manly  character,  enlivened  by  humour,  and  loved 
immensely  to  play  practical  jokes  upon  his  intimate  friends. 
In  business  there  was  no  beating  about  the  bush ;   it  was 

86 


TIP-PU-TIB 


always  "  take  it  or  leave  it,"  and,  in  warfare,  "  unconditional 
surrender "  was  the  basis  of  his  terms  to  all  enemies  who 
sued  for  peace.  His  power  was  sung  around  most  camp- 
fires,  from  the  East  Coast  to  Stanley  Pool  on  the  Congo. 
His  very  name  was  sufficient  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  all  who  were  liable  to  attack. 

The  next  in  influence  was  his  partner  Rumaliza.  These 
are  not  their  real  names,  but  those  by  which  they  are 
known  in  the  Interior — a  kind  of  fighting  title.  "  Rumaliza  " 
signifies  "  one  who  utterly  finishes."  This  man  was  exactly 
the  opposite  in  character  to  Tip-pu-Tib.  He  was  a  pure 
Arab — quiet  in  manner,  cultured  and  courteous,  always  a 
gentleman  in  his  dealings  with  us.  He  is  still  alive,  residing 
in  Zanzibar.    Tip-pu-Tib  is  dead. 

Let  me  at  once  place  on  record  my  sincere  appreciation 
of  the  kindness  shown  to  me  for  many  years  by  both  these 
powerful  men,  for  on  one  or  two  occasions  they  saved  my  life 
from  the  plots  of  their  co-religionists  during  a  period  of  great 
disturbance.  I  cannot  say  a  word  for  their  cruel  trade,  but 
I  gratefully  acknowledge  their  loyal  and  disinterested  attach- 
ment to  me.  Although  it  brought  upon  them  much  trouble 
they  never  forsook  their  English  acquaintance,  whose  life 
was  at  all  times  in  their  hands;  and  whose  constant  protest 
against  their  vile  work  was  always  received  with  politeness, 
and  the  remark,  ''We  must  difter  on  these  subjects,  but  not 
quarrel." 

At  South  Tanganyika  second-rate  men,  most  of  them 
half-caste  Arabs,  acted  as  middle-men  on  behalf  of  the  Ujiji 
merchant  princes. 

Across  the  plateau  Lake  Nyasa  was  held  by  Mlozi  Jumbe, 
Makanjira  Mponda,  and  others  who  were  more  or  less 
linked  together  by  religion  as  well  as  trade.  This  combina- 
tion was  not  to  be  trifled  with.  A  few  isolated  white  men 
could  do  nothing  but  undermine  their  stronghold,  certainly 
not  carry  it  by  direct  assault.    An  impatient  philanthropist 

87 


KAVALA  ISLAND 


of  the  "go  for  them'"  school  wrote  me  a  letter  about  this 
time,  saying,  "  What  are  you  playing  at  with  those  beastly 
Arabs  ?  String  tJiem  up  ! I  must  not  anticipate  events  now 
by  describing  the  "  stringing  up,"  or  the  reader  may  accuse 
me  of  undue  haste.  To  my  bellicose  correspondent  I  wrote : 
"  If  you  are  anxious  to  do  your  creditors  a  service,  insure 
your  life  for  a  million,  come  out  by  next  steamer,  bring 
the  string  with  you,  and  show  us  how  it^s  done.*"  Any  fool 
could  have  got  his  throat  cut,  but  it  would  not  have  brought 
us  any  nearer  the  attainment  of  our  ends. 

We  left  Ujiji  as  soon  as  possible  and  established  a  marine 
depot  on  the  west  coast,  near  the  terminus  of  the  main 
slave-road  from  Manyema.  John  Penry  was  the  first  of 
our  party  to  succumb  to  fever,  after  a  long  illness.  He  was 
soon  followed  by  James  Dunn,  a  young  carpenter,  who  was 
found  dead  in  bed  after  repeated  attacks  of  malaria. 

Having  prepared  our  base  at  Kavala  Island,  we  sailed  to 
the  south  end  to  receive  the  material  for  building  the  first 
steam  vessel  to  navigate  the  great  lakes. 

During  the  first  and  second  years,  numerous  voyages  were 
made  in  the  small  lifeboat  for  the  purposes  of  survey  work 
and  establishing  friendly  relations  with  the  native  chiefs. 

To  be  in  that  open  boat,  beating  250  miles  against  the 
south-east  monsoon,  was  an  experience  in  yachting  not  to 
be  surpassed  anywhere.  From  east  to  west  coast,  by  night 
and  day,  she  thrashed  against  the  white-crested  waves, 
drenching  all  on  board.  Her  native  crew  would  hide  beneath 
grass  mats,  under  the  thwarts,  when  the  heavy  clouds  burst 
and  a  tornado  of  rain  and  wind  descended,  threatening  to 
capsize  us.  The  inky  darkness  was  lighted  by  sheets  of  fire, 
accompanied  by  thunder  which  made  them  cry  out,  ''God 
is  angry  !  Twelve  years  of  experience  at  sea  had  not  shown 
me  how  a  storm  looked  from  an  open  boat.  To  be  on  a 
level  with,  and  often  beneath,  the  crests  of  waves,  was  a 
different  thing   from  walking  on  the  bridge  of  an  ocean 

88 


THE  LOFU  RIVER 


liner.  Waterspouts  were  common,  rushing  about  from  one  side 
of  the  lake  to  the  other  like  demons;  in  fact  the  natives 
called  them  "  devils'*  tails.""  Fortunately  they  always  missed 
us,  but  the  accompanying  whirlwind  drove  us  about  as  if 
we  had  been  a  cork  on  the  water. 

With  only  one  exception  the  natives  we  met  with  were 
friendly,  bringing  food  for  sale  wherever  we  anchored.  At 
the  south  end  we  sailed  up  the  Lofu  River,  having  taken 
sixteen  days  from  Kavala  Island.  The  river,  which  drains 
the  great  valley,  was  nearly  blocked  up  by  sud.  Numerous 
hippopotami  gave  us  to  understand  we  were  interlopers  by 
raising  their  enormous  heads  uncomfortably  near  the  boat. 
Ugly  crocodiles,  in  large  numbers,  slid  off  the  sandbanks  as  we 
drew  near.  Storks,  cranes,  ibis,  cormorants,  and  egrets  adorned 
every  creek,  whilst  thousands  of  wild  geese  and  duck  of  many 
kinds  stood  closely  packed  together  on  the  mud-flats;  never 
having  been  shot  at,  they  took  no  notice  of  us  until  we  passed 
within  a  few  yards  of  where  they  stood.  It  was  fortunate 
for  us  they  lived  here  in  such  numbers,  as  eventually  they 
became  our  food-supply  during  famine. 

We  were  now  amongst  the  Walungu,  who  owned  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  southern  end  of  the  lake.  Formerly  a 
numerous  tribe,  at  this  time  they  were  a  scattered  people, 
exposed  to  the  Arab  raids  on  one  hand  and  to  the  fierce 
Awemba  on  the  other.  The  one  swooped  down  from  the 
hills,  like  the  fish-eagles,  as  the  Walungu  termed  it.  The 
other  rushed  along  both  sides  of  the  river,  completing  the 
work  of  ruin. 

Small  groups  of  villages  were  built  on  the  floating  sud, 
which  was  banked  in  mid-stream,  forming  small  islands, 
thus  affording  protection  from  enemies  on  the  mainland.  They 
were  naturally  suspicious ;  only  one  old  fisherman  ventured 
to  paddle  out  to  sell  fish,  but  of  course  he  was  in  reality 
spying  on  us.  He  said  that  the  whole  country  was  at  war, 
and  that  we  were  not  safe  from  attack  anywhere  up  the  river. 

89 


BUILDING  A  STEAM  VESSEL 

A  mile  or  two  ahead  a  broad  valley  opened  out,  on 
which  could  be  seen  several  villages  surrounded  by  stockades- 
Near  this  we  formed  a  permanent  camp,  and  prepared  ground 
on  which  to  lay  the  keel  of  the  S.S.  Good  News^  which  was 
expected  to  arrive  at  any  time.  We  had  not  long  to  wait; 
for  whilst  sitting  at  breakfast,  a  stranger  suddenly  appeared 
in  our  camp,  and  without  form  or  ceremony  introduced 
himself  as  "Lieut.  Pulley,  of  her  Majesty's  Navy."  He  had 
accompanied  Mr.  Fred  Moir  from  Lake  Nyasa  with  the  first 
consignment  of  our  vessel.  In  a  few  days  we  were  surrounded 
with  steel  frames,  keel-plates,  tools,  &c.,  &c.  The  cheerful 
society  of  these  strangers  acted  as  a  tonic.  They  told  us 
of  their  exciting  journey  across  country,  of  war  on  the  Shire 
River,  where,  unfortunately,  brass  bearings  had  been  cut 
out  of  our  cylinders,  brass  steam-cocks  chopped  off  to  make 
ornaments,  angle-irons  bent  double,  and  rod-iron  stolen  to 
make  spears.  Chapter  after  chapter  of  such  misfortunes  to 
our  vessel  followed  in  succession,  until  one  wondered  which 
end  of  the  ship  to  attempt  to  construct  first.  The  most 
amusing  of  all  was  to  find  that  the  great  iron  rudder  could 
not  be  traced. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  into  what  a  multitude  of 
pieces  a  steam  vessel  has  to  be  divided  in  order  to  permit 
of  its  being  carried  by  porters;  also  that  the  whole  had  to 
pass  up  the  Zambezi  and  Shire  Rivers  in  barges,  then  through 
the  Shire  Highlands  and  up  Lake  Nyasa,  and  finally  across 
the  Plateau  to  Tanganyika,  a  journey  of  nearly  1000  miles. 
War  against  the  white  man  was  raging  at  the  time,  and 
these  thousands  of  loads  of  metal  presented  great  temptation 
to  the  half-savage  tribes  through  whose  country  they  were 
transported  by  the  African  Lakes  Corporation.  The  depar- 
ture of  Hore  for  Zanzibar  left  but  three  of  us  to  build  the 
vessel.  It  was  slow  work.  Those  thousands  of  rivets  haunted 
my  dreams.  Fever  was  sapping  our  constitutions,  and  the 
task  at  times  seemed  too  great.    Day  by   day  plate  was 

90 


A  TRAGEDY 


added  to  plate;  but,  as  the  structure  neared  completion, 
it  was  obvious  to  me  that  one  more  of  my  comrades  would 
not  long  survive  the  physical  strain  of  such  hard  work  and 
fever  combined. 

I  found  recreation  necessary.  A  few  hours'  tramp  after 
game  supplied  the  required  change,  and  often  a  few  hours  in 
a  canoe,  duck-shooting,  gave  me  a  pleasant  Saturday  afternoon's 
enjoyment.  On  one  of  these  occasions  I  took  out  both  my 
boys,  making  them  paddle  the  canoe,  and  they  enjoyed  the 
fun  of  picking  up  the  ducks.  Our  boat  was  hauled  up  on  to 
a  clean  sandy  island  whilst  I  had  lunch. 

The  river  was  very  tempting  for  a  bathe,  for  the  heat  of 
the  sun  made  one  long  to  plunge  into  the  cool  stream.  Both 
lads  began  paddling  about  in  the  shallow  water.  I  called  to 
Tom,  warning  him  to  be  careful  of  crocodiles.  At  this  he 
laughed,  and,  pointing  to  a  small  packet  suspended  around  his 
neck,  he  said  :  "  Master,  I  am  not  afraid.  See  this  packet  ?  It 
contains  some  of  the  medicine  I  bous^ht  on  the  road  from  that 
man  who  was  nearly  caught  by  the  lion.""  I  recollected  both 
the  incident  and  also  hearing  him  say  he  would  purchase 
the  charm. 

"  Don't  be  silly,  boy  !  "  I  said.  "  Crocodiles  are  not  scared 
by  such  things,  and,  besides,  that  particular  charm  is  against 
lions,  not  crocodiles." 

It's  all  the  same,"  he  laughingly  answered  ;  "  no  beast  can 
hurt  me  as  long  as  I  wear  it.    Muungu  bass !    Only  God  !  " 

They  were  the  last  words  I  was  ever  to  hear  him  speak  ! 
Leaving  me  he  again  joined  his  companion,  the  pair  keeping 
quite  close  to  the  shore  in  shallow  water.  As  I  watched  them 
I  noticed  a  large  piece  of  dried  banana-stalk  slowly  drifting 
down-stream  towards  the  lads.  They  immediately  caught  sight 
of  it,  and,  boy-like,  saw  no  end  of  fun  if  they  could  secure  it 
to  play  with. 

To  my  horror  Tom  plunged  into  the  stream  and  made  for 
the  prize. 

91 


A  TRAGEDY 


I  shouted,  "  Come  back,  you  young  fool !  "  He  half  turned 
his  face  towards  me,  and  the  next  instant  he  disappeared, 
evidently  struggling  with  something  beneath  the  water.  All 
doubt  was  at  once  removed,  for  instantly  a  crocodile's  tail 
swished  out  of  the  water  as  it  forced  itself  downwards  with  my 
faithful  little  servant  and  companion,  who  had  trusted  to  his 
worthless  charm  and  lost  his  life. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  experience  I  felt  lonely  !  The 
silent,  cruel  river  seemed  to  mock  at  the  other  boy's  grief  as 
he  covered  himself  with  mud  and  sand,  emblems  of  mourning. 

Just  a  ripple,  and  Tom  left  us.  The  sudden  cessation  of 
his  happy  existence  appeared  inexpressibly  sad.  Yes  I  I  was 
lonely  !  Men  who  have  lived  in  the  African  bush  will  know  well 
what  I  mean  and  what  I  felt.  We  become  attached  to  our 
black  attendants,  to  the  boy  who  anticipates  our  every  w^ant, 
who  serves  us  cheerfully  at  all  hours.  Strong  men,  who  would 
scorn  the  idea  of  being  helpless,  absolutely  lean  on  these 
children  of  the  forest  so  far  as  their  personal  comfort  is  con- 
cerned. Does  a  long  march  end  in  rain  ?  The  boy  is  there. 
Wet  firewood  ?  No  matter,  dinner  is  cooked.  Hot  bath 
ready.  Pipe,  tobacco,  and  dry  clothes  all  at  hand  in  the  tent. 
It  is  "Boy!"  all  the  time;  without  him,  bush-life  would  be 
unbearable  !  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that,  when  the  Lofu 
River  closed  over  Tom,  for  the  second  time  in  Africa  I  could 
not  clearly  see  the  water  for  mist — this  time  caused  not  by 
excessive  joy,  but  intense  sorrow. 

Go  where  we  may  in  the  Interior,  this  implicit  trust  in 
charms  will  be  witnessed.  Women  and  girls  will  unhesi- 
tatingly bathe  in  the  very  waters  where,  but  a  day  previously, 
a  neighbour  was  seized  by  crocodiles.  Fishermen  will  wade 
up  to  the  armpits,  following  their  calling,  without  fear  of 
being  dragged  down  like  yesterday's  victim.  Boys  will  swim 
about  in  sight  of  these  dangerous  creatures  lying  asleep  on 
adjacent  rocks  or  sand.  Remonstrate  with  them,  and  the 
invariable  reply  will  be  "  It's  God's  affair  !  " 

92 


RUGARUGA  BULLIES 


Beyond  the  Lofu  the  plains  afforded  splendid  sport  whilst 
in  search  of  food.  The  graceful  Puku  antelope  were  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  and,  never  having  been  hunted  by  Euro- 
peans, they  were  not  at  all  difficult  to  shoot.  Zebra  roamed 
about  quite  near  to  the  villages ;  the  natives  told  us  they  did 
not  care  for  the  meat,  as  it  was  tough,  and  this  probably 
accounted  for  their  tameness. 

Kitimbwa  was  the  principal  chief;  he  is  mentioned  by 
Livingstone,  and  the  old  man  told  us  he  remembered  the 
Doctor's  visit  to  Liendwi.  His  chief  weakness  was  for  native 
beer.  He  complained  of  the  constant  attacks  upon  his  people 
by  the  Awemba  and  Arabs,  and  begged  us  to  give  him  guns 
and  gunpowder  for  defence.  This  was  out  of  the  question, 
but  we  sent  to  the  Arabs  requesting  them  to  let  these  people 
alone. 

A  most  insulting  reply  was  returned.  "  If  we  wanted  to 
fight,  they  were  ready.  If  we  did  not  like  war,  we  were  to 
'  clear  out ! It  was  evident  these  half-caste  villains  needed 
different  handling — from  such  men  as  Tip-pu-Tib  at  Ujiji.  So 
we  sent  back,  inviting  them  to  come  and  talk  over  matters. 
To  our  surprise  they  came !  Some  were  dressed  in  hideous 
costumes,  having  around  their  heads  strips  of  buffalo  hide  with 
the  hairs  standing  outwards,  something  like  a  sweep's  brush. 
Others  had  wild-<*ats"*  skins  suspended  from  their  loins.  The 
leading  men  looked  devilish,  arrayed  in  black  long-tailed 
monkey  skins;  all  were  armed  with  spear,  muzzle-loading 
rifle,  and  long  knives.  They  were  twenty-three  in  number. 
Our  force  was  composed  of  three  Europeans  and  eight 
Mohammedan  workers,  who  could  not  be  trusted  to  fight 
against  their  co-religionists.  It  was  necessary  to  deliver  an 
ultimatum,  and  to  take  the  consequences.  Our  vessel  had  to 
be  built;  we  must  have  peace  and  food.  There  could  be  no 
compromise. 

With  rifles  loaded,  and  kept  in  our  hands,  we  received 
these  interesting  neighbours  and  invited  them  to  be  seated  in 

95 


RUGARUGA  BULLIES 


our  verandah.  Three  six-chambered  revolvers  lay  handy  on 
the  table  when  the  palaver  commenced.  Addressing  them  in 
Suahili,  I  informed  them  we  were  personally  acquainted  with 
all  the  leading  Arabs  in  the  country,  and  we  had  never  before 
been  insulted.  It  was  reserved  for  them,  who  were  not  real 
Arabs,  to  send  insulting  messages  to  us,  and  we  had  called 
them  in  order  to  express  our  objection  to  their  action;  also 
to  ask  why  they  attacked  the  people  to  whom  we  must  look 
for  labour  and  food. 

"  What  business  is  that  of  yours  ?  "  the  leader  sneeringly 
answered.  "  If  you  don't  like  it,  you  can  go  away.  We  have 
no  quarrel  with  you.  " 

"  Thank  you  ! I  replied.    "  We  decline  your  advice." 

Pointing  to  our  vessel  on  the  stocks,  I  continued  : 

"Do  you  see  that  ship?  It  came  from  Europe.  It  is,  as 
you  have  heard,  being  built  by  us.  We  are  not  here  to  quarrel 
with  any  one,  much  less  to  play  ;  our  time  is  valuable ;  we  want 
peace  and  food  for  our  men,  and,  what  is  most  important  for 
you  to  know  is,  we  intend  to  stay  here  and  finish  our  work. 
If  you  attack  us  we  shall  not  run  away  and  hide  in  the  hills 
and  amongst  the  reeds,  as  these  poor  Walungu  do,  but  we 
shall  defend  ourselves  with  these,''  pointing  to  our  revolvers 
and  rifles.  "  Those  are  our  words.  The  tongue  utters  words 
which  wisdom  counsels  you  to  listen  to.  It  is  always  better  to 
use  the  tongue  than  the  rifle  in  an  argument." 

"  Tu-ta-pita"  we  will  go ")  was  the  only  reply  to  this 
ultimatum.  There  was  not  a  man  amongst  them.  They  were 
a  set  of  bullies  and  cowards.  I  never  met  a  Rugaruga,  as 
they  are  called,  who  would  face  a  stand-up  fight.  They  wiU 
howl  and  swing  their  guns  about,  brandish  knives,  and  spear 
women  or  retreating  men  !  But  look  down  the  business  end  of 
an  enemy's  rifle  ?    Never ! 

If  you  wish  to  see  brave  black  men  from  these  regions  3'^ou 
must  follow  them  after  they  have  been  trained  by  European 
ocffiers,  and  see  them  storming  stockades  in  Ashantee,  or  dying 

96 


RUGARUGA  BULLIES 


to  a  man  as  they  did  in  the  Somaliland  disaster.  These 
ruffians  were  counterfeits,  and  yet  they  terrorised  the  whole 
population  of  South  Tanganyika. 

Our  men  escorted  them  to  the  river,  and  as  the  leader  got 
into  the  canoe  I  said,  "  I  hope,  the  next  time  you  visit  us,  you 
will  not  bring  weapons,  as  white  men  do  not  consider  it  a 
good  custom."  It  was  a  satisfactory  ending  to  an  awkward 
situation.  Our  people  were  not  certain  we  should  not  be 
attacked  during  the  night,  and  when  a  leopard  or  hyena 
overturned  some  cooking  utensils,  a  panic  ensued  at  once. 
All  came  rushing  into  our  houses  shouting,  ''Rugaruga, 
master.  War !  *"  No  trace  of  an  enemy  could  be  discovered 
by  us,  and  they  were  persuaded  to  go  to  sleep.  The  men 
we  had  interviewed  that  morning  had  no  more  idea  of 
trying  conclusions  with  us  than  they  had  of  assisting  in 
building  the  vessel. 

As  will  be  told  in  the  next  chapter,  they  contented  them- 
selves with  taking  full  revenge  on  the  surrounding  villages 
beyond  our  neighbourhood,  leaving  not  a  single  town  un- 
touched in  all  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Lofu. 


97 


F 


CHAPTER  VI 


Fire  and  Sword — A  Sceptical  Native — An  Angry  Hippopotamus 
— Launch  of  the  Good  News  " — Medicine  and  Surgery — 
A  Cruel  Punishment — A  Native  Duel  :  its  Tragic  Result. 

FOR  a  few  weeks  we  heard  nothing  more  of  our  late 
visitors,  but  immediately  the  Mohammedan  fast  of 
Ramadan  was  over,  hordes  of  the  wretches  overran 
the  country,  carrying  fire  and  sword.  In  less  than  a  month 
not  a  village  existed  within  a  radius  of  twenty-five  miles  of 
our  camp,  excepting  two  which  were  very  close  to  us.  The 
maize  crop  was  either  destroyed  or  carried  away,  canoes  sunk, 
and  the  whole  of  Ulungu  turned  into  a  wilderness,  except 
in  those  districts  where  the  robbers  themselves  lived.  It  was 
not  our  duty  to  fight  these  people,  even  had  we  possessed  the 
power;  we  were  only  justified  in  maintaining  an  attitude  of 
self-defence  whilst  representatives  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  Food  could  only  be  obtained  by  making  weekly 
voyages  across  the  lake  throughout  the  dry  season. 

Many  natives  who  escaped  during  the  general  scramble 
came  to  us  for  protection  and  sustenance,  thus  increasing  the 
severe  strain  on  our  resources.  Wafipa  from  the  east  coast, 
attracted  by  the  war  and  reports  of  famine,  came  over  in 
large  canoes  loaded  with  grain.  They  halted  at  our  station, 
but  not  a  pound  would  they  sell  us.  We  bid  for  the  whole 
cargo,  but  no !  They  would  only  sell  in  exchange  for  slaves. 
"  One  load  of  60  lbs.  weight  for  a  boy,  two  -  for  a  girl ; 
old  men  and  women  were  not  marketable,  as  they  could  not 
march  to  Zanzibar  !  " 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  seize  the  lot  and  compel  them 

to  sell,  but  I  doubt  if  our  directors  would  have  endorsed 

98 


A  SCEPTICAL  NATIVE 


such  high-handed  procedure,  so  the  flotilla  passed  upstream 
to  the  Arabs,  returning  in  three  days  loaded  with  young  boys 
and  girls  about  ten  to  sixteen  years  of  age. 
As  the  crews  paddled  past  they  sang : — 

"  Daylight  comes  and  daylight  goes, 
Dig,  boys,  dig  ! 

(Meaning  dig  with  the  paddles.) 

To-night  we  sleep  far  away, 
Dig,  boys,  dig  ! 

The  fire  has  left  no  home  for  the  rats. 

(Meaning  that,  the  huts  having  been  all  burned,  the  rats  were 
homeless.) 

The  leopard  watched  and  caught  the  fawns ; 
These  fawns  are  safely  by  our  sides. 
Dig,  boys,  dig  !  " 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  such  sights  and  sounds  made  me 
chafe  at  the  restrictions  by  which  we  were  bound,  preventing 
us  from  leaping  into  those  canoes  and  pitching  the  singers 
into  the  river.  As  I  watched  those  young  people  being 
carried  away  from  parents,  home,  and  country,  I  felt  ashamed 
of  my  colour,  and  the  very  name  of  our  vessel.  Good  News, 
seemed  little  else  than  a  mockery  amidst  the  cruel  deeds  done 
under  her  shadow.  An  opportunity  to  avenge  such  an  insult 
to  my  colour  presented  itself  sooner  than  I  anticipated. 

Smallpox  completed  the  series  of  calamities  which  fell 
on  the  Walungu.  It  only  wanted  a  crowd  of  frogs  to 
reproduce  the  well-known  Egyptian  picture. 

Whilst  I  was  lying  on  my  back  beneath  the  steamer, 
hammering  up  keel  rivets,  an  inquisitive  native  edged  up  to 
me  and  asked : 

"  Is  this  vessel  not  all  iron  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered.    "  Why  do  you  ask  ? 

Picking  up  a  washer,  he  beckoned  me  to  the  river,  and 
dropping  it  in,  said: 

99 


A  SCEPTICAL  NATIVE 


"Do  you  see  that?" 

"No!  I  don't"  I  replied.  "How  can  I?— it's  out  of 
sight." 

"  Yes,  it  is  ;  but  what  I  meant  was,  do  you  see,  it  sinks  ?  " 
"  Of  course  it  sank  ;  it's  iron." 

"  Well !  "  he  exclaimed,  pointing  to  the  steamer.  "  If 
such  a  little  piece  of  iron  sinks,  how  do  you  expect  that  big 
lump  will  swim  ?  " 

He  thought  he  had  cornered  me. 

"  Look  here,  old  chap,"  I  said,  "  just  you  wait  until  this 
moon  dies,  then  come  here  and  help  us  put  her  in  the  river, 
and  you  will  see  her  swim  ;  at  present  you  must  take  my  words 
and  believe  them,  for  they  are  true." 

He  looked  at  me  and  whispered,  "  You  are  right.  She 
will  not  sink,  because  if  the  whole  tribe  tried  they  could 
never  carry  her  into  the  water ;  she's  too  heavy  !  No,  she 
will  neither  sink  nor  swim ! "  With  this  parting  shot  he 
left  me. 

He  was  soon  to  learn  that  necessary  lesson  which  must 
be  taught  all  primitive  people — that  a  white  man  speaks 
the  truth.  Grease  for  the  launching  ways  had  to  be  pro- 
cured from  hippopotami,  some  of  which  will  yield  several 
bucketfuls  of  fat  when  in  good  condition.  Many  a  day's 
exciting  sport  was  enjoyed  hunting  these  valuable  creatures, 
especially  when  the  pursuit  was  followed  in  canoes,  for  you 
can  never  be  certain  their  great  carcases  won't  come  up 
suddenly  under  the  canoe,  disturbing  its  equilibrium;  and 
there  was  always  the  danger  of  crocodiles  joining  in  the  hunt. 

One  old  beast  gave  me  an  uncomfortable  time  when  out 
duck-shooting.  Having  shot  some  Egyptian  geese,  we  paddled 
the  canoe  up  a  narrow  creek  to  pick  up  the  birds,  which  lay 
on  a  mud-flat.  My  boy  "  Kabatawe,"  who  had  taken  the 
place  of  poor  Tom,  was  with  me  in  the  boat.  No  sooner  had 
we  entered  the  creek  and  run  on  to  the  mud,  than  a  hippo 
rose  behind  us,  right  in  the  entrance  to  the  creek,  grunting  in 


AN  ANGRY  HIPPOPOTAMUS 


an  unpleasant  manner,  and  evidently  annoyed  at  our  presence. 
Kabatawe  leaped  overboard  in  an  instant,  bang  into  the  soft 
mud,  and  there  he  remained  up  to  his  waist,  a  picture  of 
utter  helplessness.  The  hippo  plunged  about  only  a  few 
yards  distant,  looking  as  if  he  meant  making  trouble. 

"  Shoot,  master,  shoot !  Pull  me  out !  Mother  !  I  shall 
die  ! and  similar  remarks  came  from  the  lad  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. Extracting  the  cartridges  from  my  fowling-piece  to 
prevent  accident,  I  held  it  out  to  him  and  dragged  him  into 
the  boat.  "  Kill  it,  master — kill  it ! he  shouted,  as  he 
scraped  the  grey  mud  from  his  body.  Oh  for  a  Kodak  at 
that  moment ! 

"  Lie  down,  you  little  monkey,"  I  commanded,  "  and  keep 
quiet ;  my  gun  is  only  for  birds." 

The  mud  was  too  soft  to  attempt  trying  to  land,  and  the 
brute  remained  bobbing  up  and  down,  right  in  the  only  track 
by  which  it  was  possible  to  escape.  To  fire  duck-shot  at  him 
was  to  court  disaster ;  our  best  weapon,  for  the  moment,  was 
passivity.  As  I  anticipated,  he  did  not  understand  what  we 
intended  to  do,  and  moved  a  little  upstream. 

"Now,  my  son,"  I  whispered,  "get  hold  of  your  paddle, 
and  gently  push  the  canoe  oft'  this  mud  the  next  time  that 
creature  goes  under  water,  and  then  sit  quiet." 

Our  wily  foe  must  have  heard  our  movements,  for  he  at 
once  became  excited,  turning  half  somersaults  in  the  water,  a 
well-known  practice  of  theirs  when  irritated.  It  is  equivalent 
to  the  action  of  a  bull  pawing  the  ground.  These  evolutions 
brought  him  back  to  the  original  place,  directly  in  front  of  the 
creek.  It  was  getting  towards  evening,  and  I  feared  attack. 
We  must  make  a  dash  for  it  or  be  caught  like  rats  in  a 
trap. 

"Now,  boy,"  I  said,  "give  me  that  other  paddle,  and 
the  next  time  he  disappears,  paddle  for  all  you  are  worth  ; 
don"'t  stop  to  look  around." 

As  the   water  closed   over  the  beast's   ugly  head,  we 


LAUNCH  OF  THE  ''GOOD  NEWS  ' 


dashed  out;  a  few  desperate  strokes  sent  our  canoe  across 
the  stream,  passing  over  the  spot  where  we  had  last  seen 
him,  and  as  we  rushed  into  the  opposite  reeds  and  sprang 
on  shore,  he  rose  and  plunged  forward,  catching  the  stern 
of  the  boat  in  his  jaws,  smashing  its  side  and  filling  it  with 
water.  It  had  been  quite  an  uncomfortable  half-hour,  and 
I  doubt  if  either  of  us  could  have  threaded  a  needle  had 
we  been  asked  to  do  so  at  that  moment ! 

The  same  lad  had  another  close  shave  a  few  days  after- 
wards. As  he  was  dipping  water  from  the  river,  a  slave- 
hunter  seized  him  near  our  house,  threw  him  into  the  canoe, 
and  made  for  the  opposite  bank.  I  happened  to  be  looking 
in  that  direction,  and  saw  the  scoundrel.  Picking  up  my 
rifle,  I  shouted,  "  Stop,  or  Til  fire !  No  heed  was  paid 
to  the  warning,  so  I  fired  at  the  canoe,  hoping  to  scare 
the  man.  The  bullet,  however,  struck  his  paddle,  smash- 
ing it.  He  immediately  pitched  the  boy  overboard,  and 
jumped  into  the  reeds,  whilst  Kabatawe  swam  back  to  us 
without  encountering  a  crocodile.    It  was  a  narrow  escape. 

We  were  extremely  glad  to  hammer  up  the  last  rivet 
and  launch  the  Good  News  into  Tanganyika.  I  did  not 
forget  the  old  sceptic,  who  stood  amongst  the  crowd  of 
natives  watching  the  iron  vessel  swimming.  Making  my 
way  up  to  him  and  touching  him  on  the  shoulder,  I  asked, 
"  What  about  the  lump  of  iron  swimming  now 

He  was  not  to  be  cornered  quite  so  easily  as  I  imagined. 
Looking  straight  into  my  eyes,  and  scornfully  pointing  to 
the  vessel,  he  answered  : 

"  You  put  medicine  into  it ! " 

The  reply  was  extremely  disappointing.  I  had  hoped 
to  impress  on  him,  and  others,  the  fact  that  our  word 
could  be  relied  upon.    We  wanted  to  win  their  confidence. 

"Look  here,  old  man,"  I  said.  "Never  you  mind 
whether  there  is  medicine  in  it  or  not.  I  told  you  it 
would  swim.    Does  it.?" 

102 


S.S.  "Good  News'* 

This  was  the  first  steam  vessel  to  navigate  the  great  African  lakes.  It  was  transported  in 
sections  up  the  Zambezi  and  Lake  Nyasa  and  across  the  plateau.  During  the  war  between  the 
whites  and  blacks  most  of  the  brass  fittings  were  cut  oflT.  and  all  rod  iron  stolen  for  spears.  A 
native  confidently  predicted  that  the  vessel  would  not  swim. 


Tropical  CREKrER^  and  an  Elephant  I'atjtI 

A  unique  photograph  of  jungle  and  swamp  taken  by  Sir  John  Kirk,  the  companion  of  Living- 
stone. Elephants  are  fond  of  hiding  in  such  dense  bush.  In  the  centre  is  a  good  illustration  of 
a  gigantic  creeper  which  has  wound  itself  in  a  remarkably  regular  manner  around  a  small  tree 
It  was  one  of  these  creepers  we  used  to  drag  our  boat  out  of  the  lake  after  it  was  sunk  by  the 
tornado. 


LAUNCH  OF  THE  -GOOD  NEWS" 


"Yes,  it  does,'""  he  answered;  ''and  Til  believe  anything 
you  tell  me  after  this ! " 

The  pendulum  had  now  swung  too  far  in  the  opposite 
direction.  These  Africans  seemed  to  know  no  middle  course, 
and  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Their  whole  life  was  one 
of  extremes — all  rain  or  all  sunshine,  feast  or  famine, 
reckless  fatalism  or  unwarranted  cowardice.  One  moment, 
the  blazing  sun ;  the  next,  chills  and  night.  No  evening, 
no  moderation  in  anything  !  With  one  voice  they  seemed 
to  echo  the  ancient  saying,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die.*" 

A  few  more  days  sufficed  to  rig  up  jury-masts  on  the 
Good  News,  as  we  had  to  sail  her  up  north  to  our  depot. 
Hore  had  now  returned,  and  he  took  command,  whilst  I 
piloted  the  Morning  Star.  It  was  a  grand  race  up  the 
lake  with  the  monsoon.  In  the  darkness  we  parted  company, 
and  dropping  mails  at  the  French  station  of  Karema,  we 
bowled  along,  shaping  a  course  for  home.  We  were  making 
a  record  passage,  but  on  rounding  the  cape  we  saw  the 
Good  News  had  outrun  us,  having  arrived  some  hours 
previously. 

James  Roxburgh,  our  engineer,  who  before  he  came  to 
Africa  had  turned  the  mighty  shaft  in  Glasgow  for  the  Ocean 
liner  Orient,  had  completed  his  last  task.  Bravely  he 
battled  against  fever  month  after  month.  The  excitement 
of  his  work  kept  him  going,  but  shortly  after  the  Good 
News  dropped  her  anchor  in  port  for  the  first  time,  he 
"crossed  the  bar,'''  dysentery  completing  the  mischief  of 
malaria. 

Our  ranks  were  being  seriously  reduced  by  these  repeated 
losses,  but  during  the  past  three  years  we  had  found  out  the 
necessity  of  avoiding  undue  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  of  being 
temperate  both  when  at  work  and  play. 

During  one  of  many  voyages  along  the  east  coast,  at  the 
base  of  the  Kabogo  Mountains,  I  saw  what  had  been  a  most 

105 


A  CRUEL  PUNISHMENT 

cruel  sacrifice,  of  a  man  who  had  been  condemned  to  die, 
in  order  to  cleanse  away  the  disgrace  resting  on  his  chief, 
through  his  having  had  a  son  born  with  only  three  fingers. 
Needless  to  say,  the  victim  was  a  slave.  They  had  tied  the 
man  head  downwards  over  a  nest  of  red  biting  ants.  These 
insects  are  dreaded  by  every  one.  They  will  swarm  over  you, 
biting  viciously,  and  the  more  you  try  to  drive  them  away, 
the  fiercer  their  attack  becomes.  There  are  few  travellers 
who  have  not  suffered  from  their  unpleasant  visits.  Around 
the  man's  eyes  some  sticky  substance  had  been  rubbed,  to 
prevent  the  ants  from  blinding  him.  My  boatmen  said  the 
ants  would  not  cross  this  substance,  the  object  of  his  tor- 
mentors being  to  preserve  his  eyes  so  that  he  might  see 
the  ants  coming  at  him  in  their  thousands.  He  was  quite 
dead  v/hen  we  arrived,  his  body  being  a  mass  of  sores, 
covered  by  thousands  of  ants. 

On  entering  the  village,  no  one  could  be  found  except 
one  young  girl,  an  old  woman,  and  a  boy.  They  were  covered 
with  dust,  and  around  each  one's  head  was  a  broad  band 
of  calico,  the  general  marks  of  mourning.  All  were  crying 
bitterly,  tears  streaming  down  their  faces.  Some  travellers 
have  ridiculed  these  outward  ceremonies  and  denounced  them 
as  hypocritical.  The  facts  are,  that  in  all  those  mournings 
distant  acquaintances  join,  and  occupy  about  the  same  position 
at  a  funeral  as  the  men  who  drive  a  hearse  in  this  country 
with  marks  of  mourning,  but  who  feel  no  real  grief.  But 
the  near  relatives  of  these  black  people  feel  intensely  their  be- 
reavement. These  mourners  took  not  the  least  notice  of 
us  as  we  passed  in  respectful  silence.  Outside  the  hut  lay 
the  dead  man's  hoe,  his  axe,  bow  and  arrows  being  crossed 
over  one  another.  A  broken  pipe  lay  in  the  centre.  How 
eloquently  these  implements  of  agriculture  and  weapons  of 
war  must  have  appealed  to  the  bereaved  relatives.  They 
reminded  me  of  the  sword,  helmet,  and  empty  boots  which 
may  be  seen  at  the  burial  of  our  soldiers. 

106 


MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

The  days  seemed  too  short  for  the  proper  discharge  of 
our  various  duties.  The  rains  succeeded  the  dry  seasons  more 
rapidly  than  we  Hked,  and  at  the  end  of  another  year  we 
were  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  another  comrade,  as  Dr. 
Dineen  fell  a  victim  to  disease.  He  had  taken  a  keen  interest 
in  examining  the  various  herbs  used  by  native  doctors.  His 
conclusion  Avas  that,  with  few  exceptions,  we  not  only  know 
their  remedies,  but  have  learnt  from  science  a  more  effective 
way  of  applying  them  to  alleviate  pain  or  cm-e  disease.  Apart 
from  medical  impostors  who  preyed  on  the  general  community, 
there  were  bona-fide  practitioners  who  sold  narcotics,  poisons, 
sedatives,  aperients,  and  so  on.  They  are  strong  believers  in 
reducing  the  amount  of  blood  in  the  veins  by  cupping, 
especially  for  headache.  Crushed  limbs  are  removed  with 
partially  sharpened  axes,  for  they  seem  to  have  found  out 
that  the  arteries  and  veins  close  up  more  quickly  if  not 
severed  with  a  keen  instrument.  Whether  they  feel  pain 
as  acutely  as  we  do,  I  very  much  doubt.  One  thing  is  certain, 
they  bear  severe  pain  with  remarkable  fortitude,  and  recover 
from  wounds  which  appear  likely  to  end  fatally. 

That  they  are  capable  of  strong  feeling  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  incident.  Two  young  men  belonging  to 
different  villages  had  deposited  the  usual  present  with  the 
relatives  of  a  young  girl  whom  they  wished  to  marry.  It 
was  against  all  custom  for  the  relatives  to  accept  the  gifts  from 
two  suitors  at  the  same  time,  but  they  had  done  so,  and 
trouble  followed.  The  young  fellows  had  a  legitimate  cause 
of  complaint,  and  quarrelled.  Long  and  angry  interviews 
took  place  between  the  two  families  without  any  satisfactory 
result,  until  one  lover  lost  all  patience  and  seized  the  girl 
as  she  was  working  in  the  garden,  taking  her  to  his  house. 
This  brought  matters  to  a  climax;  but  instead  of  the  two 
villages  rushing  to  war,  as  commonly  happens,  the  old  people 
decided  that  the  two  young  men  should  fight  it  out  with 
spears,  only  there  was  to  be  a  distinct  understanding  that  it  was 

107 


A  NATIVE  DUEL 


not  a  duel  to  the  death.  The  conditions  were,  whoever  first 
speared  the  other  through  arm  or  leg  w  as  to  have  the  girl. 

If  the  man  died  from  his  wounds,  the  girl  should  be  given 
to  the  next  of  kin  of  the  deceased.  No  wounds  were  to  be 
made  on  any  other  part  of  the  body. 

The  chief  sent  down,  requesting  me  to  leave  the  harbour, 
as  he  feared  my  sailors  might  become  involved  in  any  trouble 
which  might  probably  follow  the  contest.  I  declined,  for  I 
was  anxious  to  witness  black  men  enter  the  lists  to  imitate 
the  chivalry  of  Europe ;  so,  informing  the  chief  that  my  men 
would  remain  on  the  vessel,  but  that  1  intended  to  see  the 
duel,  I  proceeded  to  pay  him  a  visit,  as  I  had  no  power  to 
stop  the  fight.  I  was  careful  to  let  him  know  I  came  as  his 
guest,  and  slipping  a  packet  of  salt  into  his  hand,  I  added, 
"Tell  your  people  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  quarrel, 
and  am  simply  here  as  a  visitor.''  Numerous  pots  of  beer 
stood  ready  for  consumption,  and  the  whole  population  was 
most  excited. 

The  old  man  called  one  of  his  advisers  and  whispered 
something  into  his  ear.  Soon  three  others  joined  the  party, 
and  after  a  consultation  I  was  surprised  by  the  chief  tell- 
ing me  that  representatives  of  both  families  had  asked  him 
to  request  me  to  see  fair  play,  to  act  as  referee,  and  to  stop 
the  young  men  from  killing  each  other,  as  they  feared  their 
own  inability  to  control  either  the  men  or  their  relatives. 
This  was  getting  more  interesting.  These  artful  people  saw 
a  way  of  escape  out  of  a  delicate  situation,  and  were  not  slow 
to  avail  themselves  of  my  presence.  Being  desirous  of  assist- 
ing them,  as  I  knew  these  affairs  nearly  always  ended  in  the 
death  of  some  one,  I  replied,  "  I  agree  to  help  you,  provided 
that  both  the  combatants  are  called  that  they  may  hear  my 
instructions,  as  they  must  give  me  their  promise  to  obey  my 
orders  or  take  the  consequences.  You  old  men  must  also 
understand  that  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  disposal 

of  the  girl;  it  is  not  my  business.    White  men  consult  the 

108 


A  NATIVE  DUEL 


wishes  of  their  daughters  in  these  matters;  they  do  not  sell 
them  as  you  do.    I  simply  see  fair  play  between  these  two 
men.    Do  you  agree  ?  " 
"  Yes  !  "  they  answered. 

A  great  crowd  had  now  assembled,  and  I  ordered  them  to 
be  sent  farther  away.  The  two  men  then  came  forward,  both 
looking  sullen ;  they  carried  ugly-looking  spears,  with  shafts 
about  six  feet  long.  They  were  stabbing  spears,  not  the  short 
assegai,  which  is  thrown.  An  orator  shouted  out  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  situation  to  the  friends  of  both  men,  asking  if 
they  agreed  with  the  chiefs  decision  that  the  white  man 
should  see  fair  play  and  decide  who  was  the  victor.  They 
replied  in  the  affirmative. 

Addressing  the  combatants,  I  said  : 

"  You  have  heard  the  voices  of  your  chief,  and  elders,  and 
relatives;  are  you  also  willing  that  I  should  judge  between  you, 
and  will  you  promise  to  accept  my  decision  as  final  ?  "  One, 
the  elder  of  the  two,  answered,  "  Our  old  men  have  spoken 
I  have  no  use  for  my  tongue  ! 

The  younger  said,  "  My  spear  will  only  talk  with  his  spear. 
Boys  do  not  refuse  to  obey  the  old  men  ! " 

"  It  is  good  ! I  added.  "  Whoever  first  touches  the  other's 
arms  or  legs  with  his  spear  so  as  to  draw  blood,  will  win,  and 
I  shall  stop  the  fight !  Whoever  touches  any  other  portion 
of  the  body  with  his  spear  so  as  to  draw  blood,  loses.  You 
understand,  this  is  not  war,  but  simply  to  prove  which  of 
you  is  the  more  clever  with  the  spear ! " 

"  Good      they  replied. 

The  sun  was  dipping  behind  the  adjacent  hill,  and  this  was 
the  time  chosen  for  this  most  important  affair.  What  they  felt 
in  need  of  was  a  Coiui  of  Decision.  Both  chief  and  people  were 
more  or  less  interested  parties.  I  was  impartial,  and  for  the 
moment  took  the  place  of  the  poison  ordeal.  If  I  could  get 
the  matter  decided  without  loss  of  life,  it  was  worth  the  risk. 

Noticing  that  all  the  men  were  armed,  I  ordered  them  to 

111 


A  NATIVE  DUEL 


go  and  put  their  weapons  in  the  houses,  pointing  out  that  it 
was  a  personal  quarrel  to  be  settled  by  these  two  alone,  not 
by  the  family.  Beckoning  the  young  men  into  the  circle,  I 
stepped  between  them,  at  the  same  time  drawing  a  revolver, 
which  I  held  up,  saying,  "  Remember  !  No  wounds  on  the 
body  ;  and  when  I  say  '  Stop  ! '  the  man  who  does  not  do  so 
instantly  will  be  spoken  to  by  this  revolver." 

They  were  covered  with  grease,  and  looked  fine  specimens 
of  manhood.  Placing  them  so  that  their  spear-heads  just  met, 
I  stepped  backwards  with  the  words,    Go  on ! 

I  expected  a  mad  rush,  but  no  such  thing  happened ;  they 
stood  quite  still,  only  leaning  forward  just  sufficiently  to  allow 
both  blades  to  come  well  into  contact.  That  they  were  in 
deadly  earnest  could  be  seen,  as  their  eyes  were  fixed  on 
each  other,  the  crowd  meantime  keeping  perfect  silence ! 
They  bent  forward  towards  the  ground,  the  muscles  of  their 
arms  quivering  as  each  tried  to  press  the  other's  spear  on  one 
side  so  as  to  get  a  clear  thrust.  Perspiration  ran  down  their 
bodies  ;  physically  they  appeared  to  be  equally  matched.  This 
bending  to  the  ground  to  get  in  the  first  blow  was  a  calculated 
manoeuvre,  and  as  an  exhibition  of  fencing  with  the  spear  it 
was  worth  witnessing.  I  enjoyed  seeing  the  use  these  men  were 
making  of  their  brains  as  well  as  their  muscles.  A  slip,  a  moment 
off  guard,  too  little  or  too  much  pressure,  and — well,  anything 
might  happen  in  the  case  of  men  fighting  for  a  woman. 

Weight  began  to  tell  in  favour  of  the  older  man,  and 
suddenly  he  brought  more  pressure  to  bear  on  the  blade.  The 
youngster  gave  way,  there  was  a  swift  lunge  forward,  and  the 
next  instant  both  were  sprawling  on  the  sand ;  the  sudden 
release  of  the  weapons  threw  them  off  their  balance,  and 
quick  as  lightning  the  youngster,  as  he  fell,  passed  his  spear 
clean  through  the  thick  part  of  his  stronger  opponents  thigh. 
As  they  fell  the  spear  snapped,  and  the  defeated  man  was 
gripping  his  spear  to  stab  his  fallen  conqueror,  when  I  jumped 
on  his  wrist,  and  putting  my  revolver  close  to  his  face,  I  called : 

112 


ITS  TRAGIC  RESULT 


"  Drop  it !    You  have  lost !  " 

It  took  but  a  second  to  secure  the  spear  and  order  the 
exulting  boy  off  the  ground.  The  wound  was  an  ugly  one,  but 
had  missed  all  the  great  blood-vessels.  We  rolled  up  dried 
banana  skins  into  a  ball  and  formed  a  rough  tourniquet.  He 
could  not  walk,  so  he  was  carried  to  the  beer-pots  and  well 
soaked  with  native  beer.  That  fearful  gash  healed  in  three 
weeks,  showing,  as  I  said  before,  the  remarkable  recupera- 
tive power  they  possess.  That  evening  both  sides  drank  beer 
together;  their  shouts  of  revelry  and  drum-beating  continued  up 
to  a  late  hour,  and  1  knew  they  were  satisfied  with  the  decision. 

Were  they  all  satisfied  ?  Alas,  no !  In  a  little  hut  there 
was  a  maiden,  who  had  never  been  consulted  in  the  matter. 
No  one  seemed  to  consider  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  be 
taken  into  account.  I  ascertained  afterwards  that  she  was 
attached  to  the  defeated  man,  who  came  from  the  same  country 
as  herself.  On  being  told  she  would  become  the  wife  of  the 
other  man,  she  did  not  reply  ;  but  her  mother,  seeing  tears 
in  her  eyes,  asked  the  reason.  Still  no  answer.  This  is  very 
characteristic  of  Africans.  They  close  up  like  an  oyster,  and 
not  even  the  fear  of  death  will  force  them  to  speak. 

It  appears  that,  that  evening,  she  collected  her  little  bead 
ornaments,  and  fancy  combs  made  out  of  reeds.  These  she 
placed  in  a  small  earthenware  pot  which  most  African  girls  use 
as  a  kind  of  handy  receptacle,  and  which  is  considered  private 
by  her  family.  Her  mother  asked  her  what  she  was  doing. 
"  Making  preparations,"  was  her  only  reply ;  and  going  out  of 
the  hut,  she  added,  I  shall  not  be  long !  It  was  the  last 
time  they  saw  her  alive.  I  think  it  was  near  midnight  when 
I  awoke  hearing  that  never-to-be-forgotten  wail  of  an  African 
child  who  has  lost  its  grandmother.  (The  grandmother  always 
takes  care  of  the  children.)  Again  and  again  it  broke  the 
silence  of  the  night.  "  Amai !  Amai !  Amai !  "  ("  Grand- 
mother ! This  was  followed  by  heart-broken  outbursts  of 
grief.    Calling  the  crew,  I  asked,  "  Do  your  hear  that  woman  ? 

113 


ITS  TRAGIC  RESULT 


Shout  out  and  ask  her  what  she  is  doing  up  there  in  the  rocks 
at  night,  and  tell  her  the  leopards  live  there." 

They  did  as  I  ordered,  but  the  only  reply  was,  "  Amai  ! 
Amai ! " 

"  Come  on,'"*  I  said ;  "  she**!!  be  killed  by  the  leopards." 

Up  the  rocks  we  clambered  by  the  aid  of  the  moon,  but 
as  soon  as  she  saw  us  she  fled,  carrying  on  her  head  a  small 
earthenware  pot. 

Don't  follow,  master,"  the  men  said  ;  "  you  won't  catch  her 
like  that.    It's  some  woman  w^ho  is  mad ;  we  must  stalk  her." 

We  sat  down  to  discuss  the  best  plan  to  adopt,  when  we 
caught  sight  of  her  standing  on  the  top  of  a  high  cliff  over- 
looking the  lake. 

"  Keep  still,"  I  whispered  ;  "  she  is  watching  !  " 

"  She  will  jump  off,"  replied  the  man  next  to  me. 

She  was  indeed  watching,  but  not  for  us.  Her  eyes  probably 
saw  the  face  of  the  wounded  man  who  had  that  day  lost  her, 
for  as  we  looked  she  pitched  the  little  pot  into  space  and  flung 
herself  after  it. 

"  She's  gone  !  "  we  all  exclaimed  with  one  breath. 

Yes !  the  little  maid  had  gone.  Amidst  the  broken 
fragments  of  her  own  small  earthenware  pot,  surrounded  by 
the  pretty  bead  work  which  had  adorned  her  girlhood,  her 
mangled  body  was  found  wedged  amongst  the  rocks  at  the 
base  of  the  cliff*. 

No  matter  by  what  name  you  call  it — Love,  affection, 
passion,  madness.  Whatever  it  was,  it  had  enticed  her  away 
from  home,  out  into  the  dense,  dark  bush  at  midnight,  and 
beckoned  her  over  that  cliff"  into  the  darker  unknown. 

"  Amai !  Amai !  "    I  shall  never  cease  to  hear  her  farewell. 


114 


CHAPTER  VII 


A  Diplomatic  Scramble — Manna — The  Amambwi — 
Unpleasant  Visitors 

IT  was  now  time  to  take  a  rest,  the  first  portion  of  our 
work  being  completed,  stations  having  been  established, 
mail  routes  maintained,  and  vessels  running  regularly 
around  the  lake,  keeping  up  communication  with  the  coast. 
Five  years  of  rough  living  and  exacting  duty  were  leaving 
their  mark  on  me,  and  a  furlough  home  became  necessary. 

Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Belgium,  and  Portugal 
were  then  paying  more  attention  to  Central  Africa,  and 
the  interesting  diplomatic  game  or  scramble  (as  it  has  been 
called)  for  Africa  commenced  in  earnest.  Britain  thought 
she  needed  a  route  from  the  Cape  to  Cairo.  Cecil  Rhodes 
began  his  trans-continental  telegraph;  Germany  wanted 
Zanzibar  and  the  Hinterland ;  France  looked  with  longing 
eyes  from  west  to  east  and  hoped  to  sit  astride  the  Nile  ; 
Belgium,  or  the  Congo  State,  began  to  wake  up  to  the  fact 
that  she  possessed  vast  forests  as  well  as  great  mineral  and 
vegetable  wealth. 

The  enormously  valuable  consignments  of  ivory,  which 
annually  entered  the  Zanzibar  custom-house,  were  known 
to  come  from  the  backbone  of  the  continent,  where  most 
of  the  different  spheres  of  influence  met,  and  it  was  possible 
to  divert  this  golden  stream  northward  down  the  Nile, 
or  southward  via  Blantyre,  or  westward  down  the  Congo. 
The  stream  was  then  flowing  eastward  to  Zanzibar,  and 
the  question  was:  Who  should  possess  this  Klondyke  of 
ivory  ?  European  ambition  was  well  known  at  the  coast, 
and    transmitted  up-country  to  the  various  great  trading- 

115 


MANNA 


centres.  Its  vibrations  began  to  be  felt  on  Tanganyika 
when  I  left  for  home.  The  Arabs  became  uneasy.  Com- 
mmiications  received  from  the  Nile  confirmed  their  suspicions 
that  the  white  men  had  come  to  stay.  The  actual  storm  had 
not  yet  begun  to  break,  but  the  atmosphere  was  oppressive ; 
there  was  a  calm,  similar  to  that  which  one  experiences  at 
sea  when  near  the  equator,  immediately  before  the  squall 
strikes  the  ship. 

Such  a  squall  was  about  to  strike  Central  Africa,  but 
as  yet  nothing  but  the  distant  murmur  of  thunder  could 
be  heard,  as  I  turned  my  steps  towards  home,  across  the 
plateau  which  separates  the  Lakes  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa, 
it  being  my  intention  to  reach  the  coast  via  the  Zambezi 
River.  I  found  this  high  plateau  mostly  composed  of  sand- 
stone and  granite,  and  occupied  by  the  Amambwi  tribe,  who 
were  not  only  quarrelsome,  but  inclined  to  be  insolent,  and 
were  already  known  as  notorious  thieves. 

It  was  whilst  passing  this  district  that  I  was  shown  a 
very  curious  white  substance,  very  similar  to  porridge.  It 
was  found  on  the  ground  early  in  the  morning  before  the 
sun  rose.  On  examination  it  was  seen  to  possess  all  the 
characteristics  of  the  manna  which  is  said  to  have  fallen 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Israelites. 

In  appearance  it  resembled  coriander  seeds,  was  white 
in  colour,  like  hoarfrost,  sweet  to  the  taste,  melted  in  the 
sun,  and  if  kept  overnight  was  full  of  worms  in  the  morning. 
The  natives  were  not  allowed  to  gather  it  before  asking 
permission  from  the  chief.  It  required  to  be  baked  if  you 
intended  to  keep  it  any  length  of  time. 

This  substance  was  seen  some  years  afterwards  in  the 
same  district  by  several  Europeans  now  living,  who  can 
vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  my  description  of  this  food. 
When  asked  what  it  was  and  where  it  came  from,  the 
natives  replied :  "  It's  the  food  of  God !  no  one  knows 
where   it  comes  from.""    I  have  never  seen  or  heard  of  it 

116 


A  Village  in  Making 


A  skeleton  living-hut  and  grain  store.  Villages  are  removed  when  the 
soil  becomes  poor  or  for  sanitary  reasons,  but  as  it  entails  much  extra 
work  it  is  a  task  seldom  undertaken  except  under  compulsion,  and  never 
unless  the  family  have  strong  male  relatives. 


Aemha  Mutilations 

This  tribe  live  on  the  plateau  which  divides  Tanganyika  from  Lake  Nyasa. 
The  man  to  the  right  has  lost  the  point  of  his  nose  and  fingers.  The  one  to 
the  left  his  upper  lip,  point  of  nose,  and  fingers.  They  were  an  unruly  lot 
of  people,  and  probably  their  chief  was  compelled  to  resort  to  extremes  in  order 
to  secure  order. 


THE  AMAMBWI 


in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  although  it  may  be  known  to 
others.  A  cake  of  it  was  baked  and  sent  to  England,  but  no 
one  appeared  to  be  able  to  determine  its  identity.  It  looked 
as  if  it  was  deposited  on  the  ground  in  the  night,  but 
in  what  manner  I  was  never  able  to  ascertain.  No  holes 
could  be  found  in  the  ground  near  it,  or  one  might  have 
concluded  that  insects  unearthed  it  during  the  night.  The 
only  suggestion  I  could  think  of  was  that  it  might  be 
a  mushroom  spawn,  as  on  the  spot  where  it  melted  tiny 
fungi  sprang  up  the  next  night.  Maybe  some  reader  can 
enlighten  us  on  the  subject. 

The  Amambwi  appeared  to  be  constantly  fighting  against 
the  powerful  Awemba,  who,  under  the  famous  chief  Kitimkuru, 
made  it  most  uncomfortable  for  any  people  who  excited 
their  avarice.  Cruelties  of  a  most  revolting  character  were 
inflicted  by  the  chiefs  on  all  criminals.  Men  and  women 
were  mutilated  in  a  horrid  manner,  as  the  accompanying 
photographs  will  illustrate.  It  was  no  uncommon  occurrence 
to  meet  men  who  were  minus  a  nose ;  ears,  fingers,  lips, 
eyes,  and  even  hands  were  sometimes  cut  ofl'  for  minor 
offences  against  the  civil  laws  of  the  tribe,  e.g. : — 

Penalty  for  stealing,  loss  of  fingers. 

Attempted  murder,  one  or  both  hands. 

Adultery,  amongst  other  punishments,  the  loss  of  both  eyes. 

Deceiving  a  chief  by  lying,  loss  of  lips. 

Revealing  the  chief  s  secrets,  loss  of  ears ;  and  so  on. 

In  no  part  of  Africa  have  I  seen  so  much  mutilation  as 
in  this  tribe  on  the  plateau. 

They  were  a  brave  lot  of  men  ;  dashing  youngsters  thought 
little  of  scaling  an  enemy's  stockade  in  daylight,  but  they 
avoided  annoying  white  men.  We  frequently  found  our 
packages  neatly  piled  up  outside  a  village  which  they  had 
happened  to  attack  and  destroy  whilst  our  goods  were 
passing.  It  appeared  to  be  understood  that  they  had  no 
quarrel  with  Europeans,  although  they  did  not  want  them, 

119  G 


UNPLEASANT  VISITORS 


and  would  not  encourage  them  to  penetrate  into  their  country. 
The  reason  given  was,  that  after  one  of  their  chiefs  had 
been  visited  by  a  white  man  he  took  smallpox  and  died ; 
hence  their  aversion  for  us. 

The  only  time  they  came  to  blows  was  whilst  Wissmann, 
the  German  explorer,  was  sleeping  in  a  village  which  they 
desired  to  attack.  They  charged  down  on  the  village,  but 
finding  him  there,  they  told  him  to  go  away,  as  they  intended 
to  kill  the  people.  To  this  he  objected,  saying  he  was  a 
guest  of  the  people  and  would  help  them  defend  their  homes. 
Placing  his  small  machine-gun  on  an  ant-hill,  he  awaited 
the  charge,  and  gave  the  massed  warriors  such  a  salutary 
lesson  that  they  fled,  never  afterwards  venturing  to  attack 
the  lake  people.  Right  across  the  plateau,  village  after 
village  was  destroyed  by  these  cruel  people,  and  food  was 
difficult  to  obtain.  We  had  a  visit  one  night  from  elephants, 
and  of  all  the  unpleasant  night  visitors,  I  think  they  are  most 
to  be  dreaded.  The  lion  roars  and  keeps  you  all  on  the  alert, 
but  seldom  attacks  a  tent,  although  I  have  known  him  to  do 
so.  The  leopard  sneaks  about  with  his  harsh,  disjointed  growl, 
snatching  away  your  favourite  dog  or  milk-goat,  but  seldom 
injuring  men  or  giving  you  a  moment's  anxiety. 

The  hyena  howls,  and  perhaps  raids  your  stock  of  fowls, 
though  he  is  an  arrant  coward,  and  one  may  often  hear  the 
men  shout  out,  as  he  growls:  "You  liar!  you  thief!  go  and 
catch  rats ! 

But  the  elephants  are  serious  invaders,  commanding  re- 
spect. They  will  enter  villages  at  night,  destroying  grain 
stores,  knocking  down  huts,  and  trampling  to  death  the 
sleepers  inside.  On  this  occasion,  the  first  object  to  excite 
their  anger  was  a  spare  tent  used  for  storing  boxes.  It  was 
a  fortunate  thing  for  me  they  did  not  notice  the  one  I  was 
using.  I  was  awakened  by  my  servants,  who  rushed  into 
the  tent,  shouting:  "  Njovu,  Bwana,  Njovu  !  "  ("Elephants, 
master,  elephants  !  " ) 

120 


UNPLEASANT  VISITORS 


Never  having  previously  hunted  them,  I  was  without 
the  proper  rifles,  besides  being  ignorant  of  their  habits. 
To  know  what  a  wild  animal  is  likely  to  do  is  half  the 
battle.  It  was  very  dark ;  the  camp-fires  were  alight,  but 
not  blazing. 

On  rising  and  looking  out,  I  could  see  men  racing  about 
in  all  directions,  shouting,  "  Elephants  ! This  pandemonium 
was  not  abated  by  one  of  the  huge  brutes  indulging  in  those 
unpleasant  shrieks  which  are  so  well  known  to  all  who  have 
hunted  them  and  been  unfortunate  enough  to  give  them 
good  reason  to  charge.  By  the  glare  of  the  fire,  I  saw  the 
spare  tent  being  torn  out  of  the  ground  and  pitched  about 
by  the  trunk  of  one  who  stood  with  his  tail  towards  me. 
Another  was  demolishing  the  temporary  huts  of  my  men. 
A  little  fox-terrier,  which  always  accompanied  me,  bolted  out, 
making  straight  for  the  animal  which  was  busy  smashing  my 
boxes  and  sending  cooking  utensils  flying  in  all  directions. 
My  only  filter  was  thrown  over  its  back,  landing  on  the 
fly  of  my  tent,  and  being  smashed  to  atoms  as  it  struck 
a  neighbouring  tree. 

It  was  amusing  to  see  the  little  terrier  barking  around 
the  elephant  while  he  tried  in  vain  to  seize  him  by  the  trunk. 
The  dog  evidently  annoyed  his  opponent,  for  the  great  brute 
kept  on  charging  him  and  shrieking  with  rage,  as  it  failed  to 
catch  its  elusive  tormentor.  None  appeared  to  carry  large 
tusks,  so  probably  they  were  a  herd  of  females,  with  the  bull 
not  far  away.  I  well  remember  having  a  peculiar  feeling  of 
helplessness,  and  a  conviction  that  it  was  as  unsafe  to  get 
up  into  a  tree  as  to  stay  on  the  ground.  It  was  no  use 
wounding  one  of  them,  for  it  might  only  have  complicated 
the  situation,  so  I  fired  into  the  air  to  scare  them  away. 
Luckily,  and  to  my  great  relief,  they  took  the  hint  and  made 
off  at  once,  crashing  through  the  forest  and  reeds,  and  for- 
tunately missing  all  the  frightened  men  who  were  hiding  in 
the  bush. 

121 


LAKE  NYASA 


It  was  the  only  time  I  was  ever  annoyed  in  this  manner 
at  night,  and  certainly  a  repetition  of  the  experience  was  not 
to  be  desired.  Once  in  a  lifetime  was  quite  sufficient.  AVhen 
they  attack  a  village — which  is  seldom — the  natives  must  be 
horrified  to  feel  the  roof  being  lifted  off  their  hut,  and  must 
expect  every  moment  to  be  crushed  by  the  enormous  feet. 

The  climate  was  most  bracing ;  at  night  it  was  quite  cold 
enough  to  sleep  under  two  blankets.  It  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  those  naked  people  could  sleep  in  such  a  low 
temperature  without  the  least  particle  of  clothing,  and  the 
next  day  travel  beneath  a  very  hot  sun. 

Most  of  the  uplands  appeared  to  be  suitable  for  the 
rearing  of  cattle,  the  grass  looking  both  sweet  and  of  a  good 
quality ;  but  being  so  far  distant  from  markets,  such  an 
occupation  would  scarcely  be  a  financial  success,  even  at  the 
present  day.  The  Chambezi  River  rises  in  this  district,  and  is 
well  known  to  be  one  of  the  extreme  sources  of  the  Congo. 
Game  was  plentiful ;  many  fine  specimens  of  both  sable 
antelope  and  eland  were  shot.  The  general  desolation  of 
the  country  was  most  depressing,  and  we  were  not  sorry  to 
reach  the  Stevenson  road. 

A  great  deal  of  controversy  has  been  carried  on  about  this 
road,  some  asserting  it  to  be  a  myth,  existing  only  in  the 
imagination  of  interested  diplomats ;  others  maintaining  that 
it  stretched  from  Lake  Tanganyika  to  Lake  Nyasa,  and  was 
therefore  British  territory.  The  facts  are  that  it  was  made 
for  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles  from  Nyasa,  and  then 
abandoned  through  lack  of  funds  and  the  death  of  the  engi- 
neers. Our  German  friends  were  partially  correct  in  stating 
that  it  did  not  exist  as  drawn  on  our  maps. 

The  descent  to  Nyasa  was  through  extremely  rugged  hills, 
at  the  base  of  which  lived  the  Wankonde.  Miles  of  banana 
plantations  could  be  seen  stretching  north  and  south  across 
the  plain.  It  was  indeed  a  treat  to  see  the  picturesque  groups 
of  small  villages  built  amongst  the  banana  groves,  the  little 

122 


LAKE  NYASA 


paths  being  kept  scrupulously  clean.  Each  hut  was  neatly 
built  and  ornamented  with  clay  bricks,  artistically  designed. 
Young  unmarried  men  and  boys  lived  in  a  kind  of  bachelors' 
quarters,  consisting  of  long  huts  divided  with  partitions.  The 
floor  was  covered  with  reed  mats,  and  the  sides  of  the  huts  were 
beautifully  decorated  with  all  manner  of  fancy-shaped  trellis- 
work  ;  cleanliness  was  the  predominating  characteristic  of  the 
whole  place.  I  have  not  seen  anything  in  Africa  to  approach 
that  ideal  community. 

At  sunset  scores  of  young  men  collected  together  for  an 
evening  parade  and  bath.  They  trotted  in  a  body  through  the 
villages,  keeping  correct  time  by  stamping  with  their  feet, 
accompanying  the  action  with  a  song.  Each  warrior  carried  a 
bundle  of  beautifully  forged  assegais  in  his  left  hand.  In  his 
right  was  poised  a  stabbing  spear.  The  only  apology  for  clothes 
was  a  brass  wire  ring  encircling  their  waists.  On  arrival  at 
the  lake,  they  simultaneously  halted,  each  man  sticking  his 
assegais  into  the  sand ;  then,  with  a  shout,  the  whole  lot  dashed 
into  the  waves  which  were  breaking  on  the  shore,  forced  onwards 
by  the  heavy  monsoon.  After  their  wash  they  indulged  in 
dancing,  and  performed  feats  of  spear-throwing,  practising  a 
kind  of  sham  fight.  Finally  they  trotted  back  to  their  homes, 
presenting  a  splendid  spectacle  of  humanity  in  perfect  health 
and  happiness.  The  tribe  appeared  to  have  reached  an  ideal 
state  of  cleanliness,  manliness,  and  morals,  although  the  men 
were  quite  nude,  and  the  women  covered  only  by  a  few  inches 
of  calico.  They  had,  however,  reached  their  zenith,  for  only 
a  short  period  was  to  elapse  ere  they  were  to  be  the  victims,  as 
we  shall  see,  of  a  most  horrible  attack,  which  practically  swept 
them  either  out  of  existence  or  into  slavery.  Their  lovely 
groves  were  doomed  to  be  cut  down  and  destroyed.  These 
atrocities  were  perpetrated  by  the  southern  division  of  Arab 
slave-raiders  who  operated  near  Lake  Nyasa. 

Standing  on  those  sands,  looking  southwards  over  the 
lake,  with  its  waves  dashing  spray  all  over  one,  was  like  beinff 


A  VAST  AND  LONELY  REGION 


at  a  seaside  in  Europe.  Lofty  mountains,  whose  peaks  were 
lost  in  the  lower  clouds,  encircled  that  immense  inland  sea, 
keeping  it  within  bounds  like  a  mighty  reservoir,  at  an  altitude 
of  about  1500  feet  above  the  sea-level.  No  less  than  200  fathoms 
of  lead  line  were  lost  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  sound  its  depth. 
Later  soundings  were  found  by  Captain  Rhoades  to  register 
up  to  300  fathoms. 

Its  vastness  and  loneliness  were  somewhat  oppressive. 
Only  one  small  semi-missionary  trading  steamer  ploughed  its 
surface,  accompanied  by  several  white-winged  dhows  carrying 
slaves  and  ivory. 

From  one  end  to  the  other  might  was  right,  men  being 
the  common  currency  of  all  the  tribes  living  on  its  shores.  At 
intervals  isolated  missionaries  were  endeavouring  to  stem  the 
tide  of  oppression  with  the  limited  resources  at  their  com- 
mand, and  in  reality  laying  the  foundations  of  empire. 
Government  there  was  none.  It  was  a  land  as  yet  un- 
touched by  "  Orders  in  Council."  The  white  man  had  not 
yet  dared  to  say  to  the  inhabitants,  "  Thou  shalt  not ! "  but 
the  tax-collector,  magistrate,  and  policemen  were  at  that 
moment  preparing  to  sweep  its  thousands  of  unsuspecting 
people  into  what  is  known  as  the  British  Empire. 

We  discovered  a  British  flag  flying  near  the  lake,  and 
towards  this  our  party  marched.  In  a  few  moments  I 
was  shaking  hands  with  a  big,  brawny  son  of  Scotia — they 
are  everywhere.  With  a  warm  welcome  he  invited  me  to 
his  house.  He  was  the  representative  of  the  famous  African 
Lakes  Corporation,  who  were  to  transport  me  to  Queli- 
mane.  How  far  from  my  mind  at  the  time  was  the 
thought  that  my  host  was  to  be  the  hero  of  one  of  the 
finest  stands  ever  made  against  the  Arabs,  or  that  his  name 
would  long  be  associated  with  Nyasaland  as  one  of  its 
bravest  pioneers ! 

As  it  would  probably  be  some  time  before  the  steamer 
could  arrive,  I  moved  about  amongst  the  villages,  and  for 

124 


SECRET  SOCIETIES 


the  first  time  came  into  contact  with  one  of  those  secret 
societies  which  are  more  numerous  on  the  west  coast  than 
in  Nyasaland. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  some  of  the  most 
powerful  medicine-men  belong  to  a  community,  which  is  more 
or  less  held  together  by  a  kind  of  Freemasonry.  Secret  in- 
formation about  certain  poisonous  roots  and  herbs  is  jealously 
guarded  and  handed  down  from  father  to  son.  The  members 
of  this  fraternity  are  considered  to  be  past-masters  in  all  the 
etiquette  of  marriages,  births,  and  deaths.  They  are  supposed 
to  be  able  to  arrange  about  the  weather,  to  influence  the 
crops,  to  afford  safety  to  travellers,  and  to  detect  criminals 
of  all  kinds.  They  generally  possess  wooden  images,  many 
of  which  are  beautifully  carved,  representing  human  beings ; 
some  are  hideous  in  appearance,  and  are  used  on  occasions 
to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  those  over  whom  they 
desire  to  exert  some  influence.  These  images  are  sometimes 
given  names,  e.g,  the  god  of  water,  or  of  grain  fields,  or  of 
game.  Others  have  special  functions  allotted  to  them,  e.g. 
to  watch  over  women  during  childbirth,  or  to  protect  the 
graves  from  desecrations  by  midnight  cannibals,  who  are  said 
to  dig  up  the  corpse  and  eat  it. 

Groups  of  these  images  may  at  times  be  seen  placed  near 
cross  roads,  for.  the  purpose  of  preventing  evil  approaching 
the  village;  as,  for  instance,  smallpox  may  be  raging  in  an 
adjacent  district,  and  to  stop  its  creeping  along  their  roads 
these  images  will  be  posted.  The  professional  medicine-men 
have  great  power  over  both  chief  and  people.  All  dread 
their  anger ;  none  are  safe  from  their  magic.  That  they 
annually  remove  thousands  of  people  by  poison  has  been 
proved  beyond  doubt. 

So  far  as  the  Wankonde  were  concerned,  they  appeared 
to  live  in  mortal  fear  of  one  particular  professor,  who 
resided  amongst  the  rocks,  and  was  seldom  seen  in  public. 
The  interesting  study  of  totemism,  and  all  the  ideas  asso- 


POISON  ORDEAL 


ciated  with  it,  has  been  pursued  with  far  greater  success  in 
West  Africa  than  in  Nyasaland,  and  none  but  those  who 
have  made  it  a  special  study  can  be  qualified  to  touch 
the  subject,  so  I  leave  it  for  others. 

A  case  of  murder  happened  whilst  I  was  waiting,  and 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  some  of  the  operations 
of  the  doctors.  A  young  man  was  found  dead  in  the 
forest,  with  his  skull  smashed,  and  his  body  speared  in 
several  places.  No  one  was  able  to  account  for  the  deed, 
as  the  deceased  did  not  appear  to  have  any  special  quarrel 
with  any  one;  neither  were  his  family  involved  in  any 
dispute.  The  chief,  on  being  appealed  to,  decided  to 
consult  the  great  medicine  tribal  witch-finder.  The  general 
opinion  was  that  a  Mfiti  (cannibal)  had  killed  the  man 
for  food.  Suspicion  rested  on  an  old  man,  who  denied  all 
knowledge  of  the  deed.  The  more  emphatic  he  became  in 
his  denials,  the  more  eager  they  were  to  condemn  him.  At 
length,  out  of  sheer  desperation,  he  demanded  the  poison 
ordeal.  This  challenge  his  accusers  were  by  custom  com- 
pelled to  accept.  The  company's  agent  had  no  power  to 
interfere  with  the  poison  ordeal,  although  he  endeavoured  to 
persuade  the  chief  not  to  resort  to  so  unjust  a  tribunal.  His 
appeal  had  no  effect.  Probably  through  fear  of  our  presence, 
the  medicine-men  refused  to  come  to  the  village,  but  insisted 
on  trying  the  case  in  private,  and  the  result  only  became 
known  to  us  some  days  afterwards. 

They  first  took  the  man  out  to  the  forest,  together 
with  the  corpse,  making  him  sit  beside  it  for  two  days 
and  nights,  guarded  by  male  relatives  of  the  deceased. 
No  food  or  water  was  allowed  him.  While  in  this  weak 
state,  and  his  nerves  naturally  somewhat  unstrung  by  such 
a  gruesome  vigil,  they  made  him  drink  the  poison.  He  is 
said  to  have  fallen  down  in  a  stupor,  but  not  vomiting  the 
poison  proved  him  guilty,  whereupon  they  immediately 
speared  him   to  death,   leaving  him   unburied.    We  were 

1'2S 


A  WITCH-FINDER 


able  to  verify  some  of  this  story  by  finding  the  body 
partly  eaten  by  hyenas. 

I  became  very  anxious  to  find  out  all  that  was  possible 
about  these  witch-finders,  and  nearly  paid  a  high  price 
for  my  curiosity.  I  determined,  if  possible,  to  interview 
the  dreaded  creature  who  lived  amongst  the  rocks,  and 
with  the  object  of  obtaining  an  introduction  to  him  I 
paid  the  chief  a  visit.  Placing  my  present  of  calico  and 
brass  wire  near  him,  I  asked  him  to  let  me  pay  the  wizard 
a  secret  call.  At  first  he  flatly  refused,  saying,  "I  do 
not  know  where  the  gods  live ! " 

This  was  all  nonsense.  So,  adding  a  bag  of  clean  salt  to 
the  pile  of  presents,  I  answered: 

"  I  understand !  What  you  mean  is  that  they  move 
about,  to-day  here,  to-morrow  elsewhere ;  they  do  not  sit  still 
as  we  do.  When  you  began  to  smoke  your  pipe  this  morning, 
you  were  unaware  on  which  particular  rock  this  spirit  was 
sitting,  talking  to  the  birds;  but  if  you  will  give  that  salt 
to  your  head-man,  he  may  be  able  to  give  you  the  latest 
information,  for  as  you  hold  the  responsible  position  of  chief, 
no  spirit  would  dare  to  hide  himself  from  your  eyes.'' 

I  had  touched  both  his  pocket  (he  hadn't  any  !)  and  his 
pride,  for  he  at  once  replied,  "  I  know  everything.  No  one 
is  above  me ;  I  am  the  chief." 

"  Of  course  you  do,"  I  added,  "  or  you  could  not  have  sent 
for  him  to  administer  the  poison  which  killed  the  man  last 
week."  The  old  liar  was  nonplussed,  and  he  quickly  ended 
the  interview  by  saying,  "  Very  well,  as  you  have  brought 
something  sweet  for  the  gods  (he  meant  his  wives),  I  will  see 
if  they  will  meet  you  and  let  you  know." 

I  did  not  then  expect  treachery.  Three  days  elapsed,  and 
receiving  no  intimation  of  the  pleasure  of  the  spirits,  I  called 
on  the  chief  for  an  explanation  of  the  ethereal  delay. 

"  Oh  ! "  replied  he,  with  a  grunt,  "  the  moon  is  too  young ; 
there  is  not  sufficient  light  for  you  to  see  the  dangers  in  the 

129 


A  WITCH-FINDER 


path;  snakes  lie  on  the  path  at  night,  waiting  to  catch  frogs 
and  mice."" 

There  was  a  covert  warning  in  this  information,  but  I  was 
too  much  of  a  novice  to  understand  the  service  he  was  seeking 
to  render  me,  through  what  I  interpreted  as  obstruction. 

"  Snakes  on  the  path  waiting  for  frogs." 

Indeed  there  was  a  deadly  thing  at  the  path,  which  might 
have  brought  my  adventure  to  a  fatal  end. 

Being  convinced  that  he  was  playing  the  fool  with  me, 
I  pressed  him,  saying,  "  You  are  only  a  chief  in  name ;  you 
cannot  compel  this  Mfiti  to  meet  me  !  " 

He  was  annoyed,  and  sharply  answered :  "  I  am  not  a 
chief  of  the  spirits,  and  cannot  command  them,  and  am  not 
responsible  for  what  they  do ! "  (I  ought  to  have  understood 
this  second  warning.)  "  If  you  go,  I  cannot  stop  you ;  the  path 
is  too  dangerous  for  my  people,  and  I  refuse  to  let  them 
accompany  you.  That  path  under  the  banana  tree  leads  to 
the  rocks  under  the  hill." 

"  All  right,"  I  replied,  "  111  go  with  my  own  men  ;  but  as 
my  eyes  are  not  like  the  leopard's,  which  see  at  night,  I  shall 
go  now,"  and  I  at  once  entered  the  path. 

We  soon  reached  the  rocks,  and  my  men  became  scared 
as  we  passed  several  bones  scattered  about.  "  Let  us  go  back, 
master !  "  they  said.  "  It's  no  use ;  we  shall  not  see  the  Mfiti." 
Without  replying,  I  followed  a  small  track  around  a  big  rock, 
and  soon  came  in  sight  of  a  hut,  with  a  man  sitting  outside 
the  door. 

He  was  indeed  hideous :  around  his  loins  were  suspended 
gourds ;  hanging  to  his  arms  were  lions'  claws  ;  several  porcupine 
quills  protruded  from  his  hair ;  and  hanging  from  his  shoulder 
was  a  dried  snake-skin.  He  had  evidently  been  told  of  our 
approach,  and  was  not  at  all  disturbed.  Handing  him  some 
beads,  I  got  to  business  at  once  by  letting  him  know  that  I 
wanted  to  be  told  if  I  should  have  a  safe  passage  down  Nyasa. 
Scanning  me  with  keen  eyes,  he  answered  : 

130 


A  Game  Trap 

Game  trap  photographed  by  Sir  John  Kirk.  The  Author  narrowly  escaped 
tripping;  over  the  string  of  one  of  these,  when  following  the  medicine  man,  as 
it  was  hidden  by  vegetation.  The  animal  irips  against  a  string  stretched 
across  the  path  and  releases  the  weighted  spear,  tiie  point  of  which  is  often 
poisoned. 


Naiive  Porters 

Young  men  who  have  chosen  the  life  of  porter.-.  They  will  travel  about  twenty-five  miles  a 
day,  and  carry  a  load  weighing  sixty  pounds.  Whilst  at  rest  they  like  lo  do  something  for 
aniusement.  The  right-hand  man  i>  making  combs,  three  of  which  are  near  his  feet  and  two  in 
his  hair.    Girls  decorate  them  afterwards  wiih  beads. 


A  WITCH-FINDER 


"  My  medicine  is  not  for  you ;  your  skin  is  too  white." 

"  I  am  sorry  the  beads  I  gave  you  are  also  white ;  they  will 
destroy  your  power.    I  will  take  them  away." 

He  was  not  such  an  idiot  as  to  give  them  to  me. 

"No!"  he  replied;  "I  will  ask  the  spirits  to  speak,"  and, 
producing  a  small  whistle,  he  asked  us  to  step  back  whilst 
he  made  medicine. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait  before  he  called  me,  and  began 
making  a  series  of  passes  with  a  buffalo's  tail,  pointing  to  an 
inverted  pot  in  front  of  him.  After  addressing  to  this  pot 
a  few  sentences,  he  leaned  forward,  making  a  vigorous  pass 
over  the  ground,  and  from  under  the  pot  came  a  sharp  whistle. 
My  men  were  thunder-struck,  and  moved  away  a  few  yards. 

"  The  spirits  say :  The  winds  will  blow "  (they  usually 
do,  I  thought),  "the  sun  shine"  (another  piece  of  gratuitous 
information),  "but  you  will  sleep  on  the  other  shore'''*  (in 
English,    You  will  have  a  safe  passage  "). 

Upon  my  asking  him  if  the  spirits  always  came  at  his 
bidding,  he  replied :  "  Yes !  they  came  to  my  father,  and 
to  his  father ;  they  will  come  to  my  son  after  I  die !  " 

I  had  noticed  his  vigorous  action  when  bending  forward, 
and  interpreted  it  as  the  means  of  applying  muscular  persua- 
sion to  the  spirit ;  and  so,  drawing  my  hunting-knife,  I  passed 
it  sharply  through  the  soft  earth  between  him  and  the  pot, 
when,  as  I  expected,  I  dragged  out  a  piece  of  bamboo  which 
was  connected  with  a  bladder  under  his  feet.  By  bending  for- 
ward in  his  eagerness  to  call  the  spirit,  he  had  pressed  the 
wind  out  of  the  bladder  along  the  bamboo  to  the  whistle  under 
the  pot,  and — the  spirit  spoke. 

He  looked  as  if  he  could  have  killed  me  on  the  spot. 
"  Don't  be  angry  ! "  I  said  ;  "  but  remember  the  white  man 
hates  lies,  and  never  pays  for  them,"  at  the  same  time  handing 
the  calico  and  beads  to  my  men.  He  got  up,  danced  like  a 
maniac,  to  frighten  us,  I  suppose.  "Let  the  white  man 
follow  me ;  I  will  show  him  the  true  spirit  of  the  Wankonde," 

133 


ATTEMPTED  ASSASSINATION 


and  oft'  he  marched,  we  following  him  to  see  the  end  of  the 
farce.  Quicker ! "  he  exclaimed,  darting  around  a  large 
rock  almost  hidden  by  dense  undergrowth. 

I  was  about  to  respond  to  his  invitation,  when  I  was 
gripped  from  behind  by  my  man,  as  he  shouted,  "  Look 
up  there,  master ;  don't  move  ! "  I  followed  with  my  eyes 
to  where  he  was  pointing,  and  there,  almost  above  me,  hung 
a  horrible  spear,  weighted  and  suspended  by  rope  over  the 
path,  across  which,  hidden  by  grass,  was  a  small  string, 
placed  so  that  any  one  who  touched  it  released  the  deadly 
spear.  It  was  a  game  trap !  One  glance  was  enough.  I 
stepped  off*  the  path,  cut  the  string,  and  the  instrument  of 
death  thundered  down,  burying  its  point  in  the  path.  The 
fiend  had  jumped  over  the  string,  knowing  that  I  should  trip 
up  against  it,  and  that  the  released  spear  would  close  my 
mouth  and  preserve  his  secret.  The  men,  he  knew,  would  not 
dare  to  expose  him,  and  would  not  be  believed  if  they  did. 

In  all  my  twenty-six  years'*  wanderings  amongst  Africans, 
this  was  my  only  experience  of  a  deliberate  attempt  at  assassi- 
nation. My  rash  adventure  taught  me  a  lesson,  and  as  I  look 
at  this  photograph  of  a  game  trap,  a  cold  feeling  creeps  over 
me ;  I  feel  I  want  to  cut  the  string. 

The  old  chief,  on  being  told  of  our  experiences,  merely 
remarked,  "  Your  medicine  killed  his  ! "    Perhaps  it  did  ! 


134 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Navigating  the  Shire  River — Blantyre — Ramakukane — 
Game  and  Fish — Shupanga 

IAKE  NYASA   is  too   well    known   nowadays   to  need 
description ;  it  is  very  similar  to  all  the  other  large 
inland  seas,  and  only  differs  from  Tanganyika  in  that  its 
waters  are  sweet  and  palatable,  whilst  some  of  the  others  are 
not  at  all  agreeable  and  do  not  satisfy  the  thirst  to  the  same 
degree,  leaving  a  dry  feeling  in  the  throat. 

After  a  considerable  rest  at  Karonga,  I  embarked  for  the 
south  on  the  small  Lady  Nyasa  steam-vessel.  At  the  first 
village  we  anchored  at,  the  people  were  living  in  dwellings 
erected  on  piles,  out  in  the  shallow  portion  of  the  lake.  On 
asking  the  reason,  we  were  told  it  was  because  of  the  Angoni, 
also  on  account  of  the  destructive  white  ants  and  wild  beasts. 
The  Angoni  are  very  numerous,  and  of  Zulu  extraction,  having 
migrated  from  the  south  many  years  ago.  They  are  a  branch 
of  the  same  people  whom  we  noticed  living  with  Mirambo  in 
Unyamwezi. 

As  the  demand  for  slaves  was  always  great,  these  half-wild 
Angoni  made  periodical  descents  upon  the  lake  population, 
with  such  effect  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  north-west 
coast  was  depopulated.  "  Mlozi,"  a  half-caste  Arab,  had  his 
stronghold  in  the  North.  Sultan  Jumbe  reigned  supreme  in 
the  west,  his  headquarters  being  at  Kotakota.  Makanjira 
claimed  the  east,  and  Mponda  the  south  coast. 

It  should  not  be  difficult  for  the  reader  to  understand  how 
completely  the  whole  country  was  thus  mapped  out  and  taken 
possession  of  by  the  great  combination  of  slave-traders. 

A  few  days'  steaming  brought  us  to  the  south  end,  where 

135 


NAVIGATING  THE  SHIRE  RIVER 


Mponda  commanded  the  Shire  River,  down  which  we  had  to 
go  in  order  to  reach  Blantyre.  The  captain  of  the  vessel 
informed  me  that  he  always  had  trouble  here  with  the 
Arabs  when  passing  Mponda's,  sometimes  being  peremptorily 
ordered  to  anchor  the  ship.  They  had  cut  down  a  large  tree 
and  thrown  it  across  the  river  to  impede  navigation.  He  said 
there  was  just  sufficient  water  to  get  over  it  provided  we  all 
stood  in  the  hinder  part,  and  then,  as  the  vessel  struck  the 
tree,  ran  forward,  thus  transferring  the  weight  to  the  opposite 
end.  It  seemed  a  somewhat  novel  mode  of  navigation,  but  it 
was  soon  apparent  the  people  on  shore  meant  us  to  stop  and 
pay  a  heavy  toll  for  passing  down  the  river.  They  stood  on 
the  banks  in  great  numbers,  pointing  at  us  their  old  flint-lock 
guns,  as  we  approached  at  full  speed,  only  a  few  yards  from 
the  bank  where  they  were  standing.  The  captain  suggested 
that  I  should  hold  my  rifle  in  readiness,  to  let  them  see  he 
was  not  single-handed.  I  have  always';  objected  to  any  un- 
necessary parade  of  firearms  when  travelling,  but  there  were 
times  when  it  was  wise  to  be  ready  for  emergencies,  and  this 
was  one  of  them. 

Pointing  ahead  to  a  ripple  on  the  water,  he  explained  that 
it  was  caused  by  the  current  running  over  the  sunken  tree, 
which  the  people  hoped  we  should  strike  against.  They  knew 
this  would  result  in  detention  at  their  place,  for  which  we 
should  have  to  pay  dearly.  All  on  board  congregated  abaft, 
and  as  the  ship  mounted  the  tree  the  Captain  shouted,  "  Run 
as  fast  as  you  can !  "  We  did,  and  the  little  craft  struggled 
over,  with  a  heavy  list  into  deep  water  on  the  other  side.  This 
was  marine  steeplechasing ;  the  wonder  was  it  did  not  break 
the  vessel's  back.  In  those  days  no  one  stood  at  trifles. 
Things  had  to  be  done.  Every  difficulty  was  met  with  but 
one  thought,  "  It  must  be  mastered  at  once  ! 

The  rage  of  the  people  at  the  success  of  the  captain's 
strategy  may  be  well  imagined.  They  fired  guns  at  us,  but 
no  one  knew  where  the  bullets  went  to ;  certainly  they  never 

136 


BLANTYRE 


struck  anything  near  us.  They  ran  along  the  bank  to  get 
better  shots  at  us,  but  as  we  pointed  our  rifles  at  them  they 
scampered  ofr  behind  the  houses,  and  by  the  time  their  fear  of 
sudden  death  had  passed  we  ^vevc  safely  out  of  range,  gaily  steam- 
ing about  six  knots  down  the  Shire  River  towards  Blantyre. 

This  settlement  was  reached  after  leaving  the  vessel,  and 
after  a  tramp  up  to  the  Shire  Highlands  from  the  mosquito- 
infested  river.  These  pests  made  life  almost  unbearable  all 
over  the  country.  No  sooner  does  the  sun  disappear  than 
they  swarm  out  in  millions.  From  the  east  coast,  where 
I  landed  five  years  previously,  up  to  this  point,  I  had  never 
been  able  to  find  a  place  free  from  their  torment. 

It  was  a  pleasant  taste  of  civilisation  to  reach  the  Scotch 
mission  station,  named  after  the  birthplace  of  Livingstone. 
To  see  and  speak  to  a  white  woman  w^as  indeed  a  pleasure. 
Although  they  looked  extremely  pale,  it  was  but  fancy,  for 
they  were  all  healthy;  the  constant  looking  at  black  women 
made  a  white  skin  look  unnaturally  pallid.  It  seemed  re- 
markable to  find  such  delicate  flowers  of  civilisation  growing 
in  the  midst  of  general  darkness  and  cruelty.  Yet  there 
they  lived,  quietly  teaching  little  black  children  to  sew  gar- 
ments to  hide  their  nakedness,  or  binding  bandages  around 
the  putrid  sores  on  a  girFs  foot.  As  evening  approached 
a  small  bell  called  the  little  "  Children  of  the  mist,"  as 
Kipling  has  named  them,  to  their  devotions.  It  was  the 
day  of  small  things — just  "something  attempted,  something- 
done.''  Later  on  we  shall  see  Blantyre  as  it  is  to-day  in  all 
its  glory. 

I  found  but  one  trading  company  in  the  whole  district, 
and  its  operations  were  of  such  modest  dimensions  that  only 
two  Europeans  were  required  to  manage  its  business  at 
headquarters.  At  their  store  a  most  daring  robbery  was 
committed  the  first  night  after  my  arrival.  Natives,  attracted 
by  the  large  deposits  of  ivory  and  calico,  broke  into  the 
place  and  stole  large  quantities  of  goods;  but  so  quietly  did 

137 


AN  AWKWARD  QUARREL 

they  work  that  we  were  not  disturbed,  although  our  bed- 
rooms were  quite  near.  It  seems  almost  incredible,  when 
I  picture  in  my  mind  the  country  as  it  is  to-day,  that  at 
the  time  I  passed  there  was  but  one  planter  in  the  Shire 
Highlands. 

The  country  was  really  in  a  state  of  war,  notwithstand- 
ing the  peaceful  mission  picture  I  have  drawn.  It  appeared 
that  a  European,  who  formerly  lived  at  Blantyre,  had  been 
commissioned  by  a  chief  to  take  some  ivory  to  the  coast,  and 
to  bring  back  the  proceeds.  On  his  return  the  chief  was 
not  satisfied,  and  attempted  to  spear  the  white  man,  who  in 
self-defence  then  shot  him  and  fled  to  a  small  islet  in  the 
river,  to  which  the  people  laid  siege,  finally  succeeding  in 
shooting  him  in  the  leg  as  he  was  drinking  from  the  river. 
This  did  not  satisfy  the  son  of  the  slain  chief,  so  he  collected 
his  men  to  attack  Blantyre,  intending,  as  he  said,  to  seize 
the  wife  of  the  white  man  as  compensation  for  his  father's 
death. 

It  was  exceedingly  annoying  to  be  thus  thrown  into  the 
midst  of  a  quarrel  when  so  close  to  the  end  of  a  long  sojourn 
in  the  interior,  especially  as  I  expected  to  reach  the  coast 
in  a  few  days.  The  steamer  I  was  to  travel  in  was  detained 
by  order  of  a  British  Consul,  who  invited  us  to  accompany 
him  to  interview  an  old  Makololo  chief,  who  stood  between 
the  white  people  and  his  half-savage  relative,  who  was  trying 
to  seize  the  white  squaw.  Backed  up  by  a  man  carrying  the 
Union  Jack,  the  Consul  proceeded  to  lay  down  the  law  to 
the  wrinkled  warrior,  the  result  being,  we  were  informed, 
that  the  war  would  be  stopped  and  the  young  chief  executed 
as  soon  as  captured;  but  the  steamer  must  not  go  down 
the  river  past  the  enemy's  village,  as  it  would  certainly  be 
seized. 

"  Why  cannot  we  go  if  we  are  willing  to  take  the  risk  ? " 

I  asked.    "  I  shall  not  catch  the  ocean  boat,  and,  what  is 

worse,  shall  miss  Christmas.'"* 

138 


A  Village  Belle 


She  is  considered  suitably  dressed  for  any  public  function.  Her  apron  is  made  of  beads  closely 
sewn  together,  as  also  are  her  body-band  and  head-dress.  The  beads  are  often  beautifully  arranged 
into  fantastic  patterns,  and  all  such  ornaments  are  freely  lent  to  friends  who  are  about  to  be 
married. 


RAMAKUKANE 


The  old  chief  looked  me  up  and  down,  then  at  the 
stalwart  Consul;  finally  at  the  flag.  He  took  a  few  heavy 
pulls  at  a  most  elaborately  carved  tobacco-pipe,  and  mur- 
mured, "  It  shall  never  be  said  Ramakukane  permitted  a 
white  man  to  go  to  his  death." 

"  Ramakukane  !  "  Who  was  he  ?  Why  should  this  man 
have  such  a  care  for  the  safety  of  utter  strangers  ?  The 
reason  was  one  of  which  we  are  all  intensely  proud.  He 
was  none  other  than  one  of  the  Makololo  boys,  who,  many 
years  previously,  accompanied  Livingstone,  and  remembered 
his  kindness.  How  remarkable !  especially  as  one  often 
hears  it  said  that  the  African  is  incapable  of  gratitude. 
A  thousand  miles  nearer  the  equator,  we  heard  that  Arab 
fiend  call  him     Father  David  "  ! 

It  was  impossible  to  wait  an  indefinite  period,  as  these 
native  wars  linger  on  for  months,  so  we  decided  to  run 
the  gauntlet.  Barricades  were  placed  so  as  to  shelter  the 
helmsman  from  arrows  or  bullets.  The  boiler  was  covered 
with  wood,  and  we  took  plenty  of  ammunition.  At  the  last 
moment  our  crew  of  Makololo  bolted  ;  they  saw  no  fun,  and 
expected  little  pay  for  such  a  wild-goose-chase.  Realising 
how  necessary  it  was  never  to  allow  coloured  races  to  think 
you  are  in  their  power,  we  collected  our  personal  servants 
and  made  them  pitch  firewood  into  the  furnaces.  The 
captain,  being,  an  engineer  by  profession,  took  charge  of 
the  engine ;  I,  being  a  mariner,  was  entrusted  with  the 
helm.  It  was  rather  a  weird  experience,  yet  sufficiently  ex- 
citing to  repay  one  for  the  temporary  annoyance  of  having 
to  stand  and  steer,  instead  of  enjoying  the  passage  sitting 
in  a  deck-chair. 

The  flat-bottomed  craft  drew  too  much  water,  and  was 
constantly  sticking  on  sandbanks,  at  which  every  one  had 
to  jump  overboard  and  push  her  off*.  Natives  hostile  to 
us  could  be  seen  dodging  amongst  the  reeds  and  low  scrub 
on   either  bank,  seeking  a  good  opportunity  to  annoy  us 

141  H 


AN  EXCITING  VOYAGE 


with  arrows.  When  one  was  up  to  the  waist  in  water 
in  a  river  where  crocodiles  were  numerous,  it  was  quite 
enough  to  have  to  exert  your  powers  to  get  the  old  craft 
off  the  sand,  without  living  in  expectation  of  unpleasant 
attentions  from  either  bank.  One,  more  daring  than  the 
rest,  let  fly  at  the  funnel.  I  suppose  he  thought  it  a  god, 
stuck  up  as  medicine  against  his  bullets.  He  had  the  satis- 
faction of  making  two  eyes  in  it  if  he  did,  for  the  slug  went 
in  on  one  side  and  came  out  at  the  other. 

We  had  used  the  steam  whistle  to  scare  them,  but  a 
shot  happened  to  hit  that,  and  stopped  its  evil  voice.  As 
they  became  too  dangerous,  we  let  them  have  some  large 
s.s.g.  buckshot ;  a  few  rounds  sent  them  headlong  into  the 
bush.  Our  fuel  being  wood,  showers  of  sparks  were  emitted 
from  the  funnel  as  we  pounded  along  after  dusk,  and  the 
burning  sparks  flying  into  the  air  must  have  made  us  look 
quite  Satanic  to  superstitious  people.  Helmets,  coats,  pants, 
were  all  more  or  less  burned  by  this  volcanic  eruption ;  but 
the  sea  was  near,  the  journey  was  about  to  end;  in  fancy 
we  could  almost  hear  the  Indian  Ocean  beating  on  the 
shore.  Five  years  up-country !  Five  days  to  the  coast ! 
A^Hiat  did  it  matter  if  the  sparks  of  our  miniature  Vesuvius 
burned  the  last  respectable  coat  we  possessed  .^^  It  would 
have  been  easy  to  drop  some  of  those  black  men — a  cart- 
ridge, a  rifle,  a  steady  aim,  and  life  was  gone !  But  we 
were  not  driven  to  that.  Let  them  go  mad  as  long  as  they 
kept  a  respectable  distance ;  we  did  not  seek  to  make  widows. 
But  as  if  to  spoil  all  our  good  resolutions,  the  captain's 
boy  was  stupid  enough  to  be  thrown  overboard  by  the 
vessel  bumping  against  the  bank.  It  was  a  nuisance  at  this 
particular  moment.  Some  one  pitched  him  a  small  hencoop, 
another  an  oar,  and  my  lad  threw  him  my  canvas  chair.  The 
current  swept  him  under  the  vessel,  but  he  was  gripped  as 
he  came  up  the  other  side,  little  the  worse  for  a  bath, 
probably  somewhat   sweeter.    This  impromptu  performance 

142 


A  HERD  OF  ELEPHANTS 


allowed  our  escort  on  shore  to  overtake  us,  and  a  dose 
of  No.  5  shot  was  rattled  against  their  skins  as  a  parting 
salute.  They  did  not  like  it ;  the  pellets  evidently  stung 
their  naked  bodies ;  but  it  was  sufficient  for  our  purpose — it 
kept  them  at  bay. 

I  heard  afterwards  that  the  young  chief  was  that  day 
captured  and  beheaded  by  Ramakukane  ;  thus  died  the  young 
Chikusi,  successor  to  Chipitula,  and  the  Shire  River  tragedy 
came  to  its  close  without  our  assistance.  On  looking  back  at 
this  novel  experience,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  how  very  differently 
the  race  might  have  ended.  Had  a  boiler-tube  burst,  or  a 
rudder-chain  snapped,  we  should  have  been  compelled  to  stop 
and  should  have  been  exposed  to  repeated  attacks. 

Nearing  the  Morambala  mountain,  the  river  wound  through 
the  marsh  like  a  great  snake.  The  flat  swamps  extended  for 
miles,  and  here,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  the  lordly  elephant  at 
home  in  all  his  might.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
river  stood  a  herd  of  more  than  seventy-three ;  so  closely 
were  they  standing  that  we  could  not  count  them  all,  but 
we  estimated  the  herd  to  contain  about  ninety  or  a  hundred. 
The  sun  showed  up  their  great  white  tusks  against  the  mass  of 
dark  skin  in  the  background;  truly  they  presented  a  grand 
picture  of  animal  life  in  the  bush. 

On  the  left  bank,  quite  close  to  our  vessel,  stood  three 
large  bulls,  each  carrying  tusks  of  about  70  lbs.  weight. 
They  were  not  alarmed  or  disturbed  in  any  way  by  our 
presence,  but  stood  calmly  fanning  themselves  with  their 
great  ears  to  keep  the  flies  out  of  their  eyes,  occasionally 
picking  up  the  earth  with  their  trunks  and  lashing  it  over 
their  backs.  We  tied  up  to  the  bank  in  order  to  get  a  better 
view  of  them.  We  were  none  of  us  elephant-hunters,  and  as 
the  country  was  perfectly  open,  with  no  cover  of  any  kind,  it 
looked  decidedly  more  safe  to  remain  on  board.  I  confess  I 
was  not  conscious  of  any  keen  desire  to  try  conclusions  with 
any  of  them,  although  the  ivory  was,  of  course,  a  temptation. 

143 


GAME  AND  FISH 


I  am  sure  all  experienced  hunters  will  agree  that  it  was  not 
an  undertaking  for  novices,  and  that  we  were  wise  in  con- 
tenting ourselves  with  shooting  a  solitary  water-buck,  which 
served  for  food.  It  is  not  nice  meat,  but  hungry  men  are 
not  too  dainty. 

The  report  of  the  firearm  started  the  elephants,  for 
without  hesitation  they  made  straight  for  the  river-bank, 
down  which  they  tumbled,  half  sliding,  half  rolling  into  the 
water,  swimming  across,  and  climbing  up  the  steep  bank  with 
comparative  ease.  They  continued  their  flight  towards  the 
herd,  which,  on  their  approach,  at  once  moved  away  with 
their  well-known  long,  swinging  trot. 

Not  long  afterwards  they  deserted  the  marsh  altogether, 
and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  never  returned.  In  fancy  I  picture 
this  immense  marshland  torn  up  by  the  steam-plough,  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  tons  of  rice  growing  on  miles  of  rich 
soil,  where  now  is  nothing  but  rank  grasses  and  reeds. 

Several  large  sawfish,  young  turtle,  and  sharks  were 
brought  by  fishermen  for  sale,  which  had  been  caught  in 
reed  baskets  staked  on  the  river.  There  did  not  seem  to  be 
many  really  good  eating  fish,  probably  because  the  people 
consumed  them  themselves,  and  as  the  stream  is  always  swift, 
it  was  only  in  the  backwaters  that  fishing  could  be  carried 
on  successfully. 

The  slow  passage  up  this  river  against  the  current  was 
most  monotonous,  the  heat  being  oppressive,  the  rank  marsh 
grasses  obnoxious,  and  mosquitoes — well,  beyond  description. 
Yet  even  up  to  the  present  day  it  is  tne  great  highway  into 
Nyasaland.  All  through  the  dry  season  it  is  too  shallow  for 
steamers,  and  only  boats  can  be  used  in  the  narrow  channels. 
Where  it  enters  the  Zambezi,  we  found  ugly  rocks  stretching 
right  across  its  mouth.  As  the  Zambezi  channel  wears  away, 
these  rocks  will  be  left  well  above  the  level  of  its  stream, 
forming  a  cataract  across  the  Shire  River. 

We  swept  into  the  Zambezi  one  morning  at  daylight, 

144 


BUSH-BUCK 


opening  out  stretches  of  swiftly  flowing  yellowish  water,  with 
large  islands  dotted  about,  cutting  the  river  into  numerous 
channels.  A  Portuguese  gunboat  passed,  steaming  up  to  the 
Portuguese  station  at  Tete,  and  as  both  national  ensigns 
dipped  in  mutual  salute,  it  made  one  suddenly  realise  that 
we  were  nearly  back  again  amongst  the  rushing  turmoil  of 
busy  civilised  nations.  I  wandered  out  to  look  for  game  at 
a  wooding  station,  and  came  unexpectedly  upon  two  bush- 
buck  fighting.  In  their  struggle  they  did  not  notice  my 
approach,  so  I  had  no  difficulty  in  shooting  one.  As  soon 
as  it  dropped,  the  other  began  driving  its  sharp  horns  into 
the  fallen  animal,  most  likely  imagining  it  had  floored  its 
antagonist.  A  second  shot  secured  the  pair.  Both  were 
decent  specimens,  although  the  horns  were  short.  The  meat 
was  excellent,  especially  when  fried  in  butter.  I  think  most 
of  the  small  antelopes  are  sweeter  eating  than  the  heavy 
animals,  although  the  flesh  of  the  eland,  if  in  prime  con- 
dition, is  very  tasty,  to  say  nothing  of  the  quantity  of  fat 
obtainable  for  the  kitchen. 

Whilst  the  men  were  cutting  up  the  meat,  I  strolled 
away,  looking  for  other  game.  Some  guinea-fowl  flew  up, 
and  I  wounded  one,  sending  a  man  to  catch  it ;  and  as  he  was 
some  time  absent,  I  followed  his  tracks,  calling  him  by  name. 
Receiving  no  reply,  I  quickened  my  steps,  and  at  last  heard 
him  shouting  as  if  in  pain.  Running  up  to  the  spot,  I  found 
him  rolling  on  the  ground,  evidently  in  agony.  At  a  glance 
I  saw  the  cause,  for  lying  dead  on  the  path  was  a  puff'-adder. 

"  What^s  the  matter  ?  "  I  asked. 

Pie  frantically  pointed  to  the  snake,  crying : 

"  I  killed  it !  it  bit  me  !  I  trod  on  it  as  I  ran  after  the 
guinea-fowl !  I  shall  die  !  Medicine  !  Master  !  Medicine  ! 
I  shall  die  with  the  sun  ! 

It  was  several  miles  from  the  vessel,  and  we  were  alone. 
The  man  was  kicking  vigorously,  half  mad  with  pain,  as  well 
as  terror-stricken  at  the  thought  of  death. 

145 


ROUGH  SURGERY 


"  Keep  still,  my  son  !  "  I  ordered.  "  Where  did  it  bite 
you?" 

On  the  foot.  Look  !  it's  swelling  ! "  he  exclaimed,  throwing 
himself  over  and  over  amongst  the  grass  away  from  the  dead 
snake,  as  if  afraid  of  another  attack.  There  was  no  doubt 
about  the  bite,  as  several  small  punctures  were  visible,  in- 
dicating where  the  teeth  had  entered  the  flesh,  and  already 
there  was  a  slight  swelling.  Having  heard  that  the  puff-adder's 
bite  often  proved  fatal,  I  knew  there  was  no  time  to  lose. 
Medicines  I  had  none,  nor  alcohol  of  any  description.  A 
strong  dose  of  brandy  might  have  saved  him,  or  at  least  given 
him  a  chance,  but  there  was  none  within  reach,  so  I  tore  open 
my  helmet  and  extracted  some  of  the  pith  lining,  crushing  it 
into  a  powder. 

"  Keep  still,  boy  !  "  I  said.  "  I  must  cut  your  foot  if  you 
want  it  cured  ;  don't  wriggle  about,  but  lie  still,  and  I  will 
help  you.'' 

"  Quick,  master,  quick !  "  he  groaned ;  and  again  the 
maiden's  cry,  "Amai !  Amai ! "  came  from  him  as  a  last 
appeal. 

I  immediately  responded.  Slipping  off  my  belt,  I  rolled 
two  cartridges  up  in  some  grass  and  placed  them  on  the  inside 
of  his  thigh  ;  I  knew  the  large  arteries  ran  somewhere  in  that 
direction.    Over  these  I  fastened  the  belt  to  check  bleeding. 

"  You're  cutting  my  leg  off,"  he  shouted. 

"  No,  I'm  not ;  don't  be  a  fowl ;  ^  it's  to  stop  the  poison 
walking  up  your  leg." 

Striking  a  match,  I  allowed  the  flame  to  play  along  the 
edge  of  my  hunting-knife,  as  a  rough-and-ready  disinfectant, 
and  quickly  made  two  deep  incisions,  removing  a  piece  of 
wedge-shaped  flesh  from  the  foot,  taking  away,  I  hoped,  the 
poison.  Spreading  the  powdered  pith  into  the  open  wound, 
I  set  it  alight  before  the  blood  soaked  it,  thus  cauterising  the 

^  "  Fowl  "~-a  common  expression  amongst  Africans,  a  fowl  being  con- 
sidered without  courage. 

146 


SHUPANGA 


flesh.  He  never  even  uttered  a  moan.  I  did  not  Kke  it — it 
seemed  to  indicate  that  the  nerves  were  beyond  feeling.  Am 
I  too  late  ?  "  I  thought.  I  was  !  He  began  to  vomit,  his  voice 
became  husky,  and  gradually  he  ceased  to  struggle.  I  was 
not  a  surgeon,  and  had  done  what  an  amateur  might ;  I  dared 
not  go  for  the  leg.  I  poured  water  out  of  my  bottle  on  to  his 
lips  and  forehead,  but  he  did  not  show  any  sign  of  recognition. 
In  an  hour  he  was  dead. 

Only  one  other  case  came  under  my  notice  at  Tanganyika. 
Three  Europeans  were  then  present,  and  in  that  instance 
brandy  kept  the  man  going  for  three  hours,  but  he  eventually 
succumbed.  It  seems  to  prove  that  some  puiF-adders  are 
deadly  when  they  get  the  poison  rapidly  into  the  blood.  His 
comrades,  when  they  saw  the  snake,  lifted  their  eyebrows,  one 
remarking,  "  Shetani ! ("  The  Devil ! 

The  mamba  snake  spits  into  the  eyes,  causing  intense  pain, 
but  sulphate  of  zinc  lotion  always  reduces  the  inflammation  in 
a  few  hours,  without  loss  of  sight. 

It  would  have  been  much  more  pleasant  to  escape  from  the 
Dark  Continent  without  such  a  painful  experience,  but  the 
bitter  had  to  be  taken  with  the  sweet.  One  felt  glad  to  be 
returning  to  a  safer  and  more  peaceful  land. 

By  the  kindness  of  the  captain,  I  was  taken  to  Shupanga, 
which  has  since  become  almost  a  shrine  in  the  estimation  of 
workers  for  the  good  of  Africa.  It  was  to  me  the  most 
sacred  spot  in  those  regions,  and  every  sense  quickened  as  I 
approached  it.  The  days  of  youth  flashed  across  my  memory, 
and  Livingstone's  devoted  wife  was  visible  to  my  mind's 
eye  again  as  the  woman  of  Africa.  I  was  about  to  visit  her 
grave. 

Entering  Shupanga  house,  one  was  filled  by  those  deep 
feelings  which  only  take  possession  of  us  at  times  few  and  far 
between.  There  was  the  verandah  in  all  its  ruggedness,  where 
the  Doctor  sat  and  perused  his  diary,  and  rested  from  weary 
watching  at  her  loved  bedside,  in  the  days  when  Africa  was 

147 


SHUPANGA 


dark  and  the  great  problems  unsolved.  Instinctively  one  ex- 
amined every  foot  of  space ;  the  walls  seemed  as  if  they  ought 
to  bear  a  parting  message,  an  initial  or  motto ;  cobwebs  hung, 
loaded  with  dust,  and  fancy  pictured  her  eyes  riveted  on  some 
such,  years  ago,  as  she  felt  life  ebbing  away  and  listened  to 
the  Doctor's  footstep  on  the  verandah.  The  view  from  a  low 
window  showed  the  mighty  Zambezi,  rushing  on  in  ceaseless 
flow  towards  the  ocean,  and  the  lofty  palms  that  had  waved 
adieu  to  both  river  and  life  as  the  eyes  closed  in  their  long 
sleep  here  at  my  feet.    'Twas  a  moment  never  to  be  forgotten  ! 

The  hallowed  association  of  that  scene  had  held  me  spell- 
bound as  a  boy,  in  books,  and  now  riveted  me  to  the  spot  in 
vision. 

"  She  lives  ! "  I  cried — "  lives  in  my  heart !  in  all  our 
memories !  in  the  history  of  Africa,  and  in  the  roll  of  the 
world's  heroines." 

Wending  my  way  through  tall  grass  towards  the  place 
where  they  laid  her,  I  pictured  in  my  mind  the  grief-stricken 
pioneer,  left  alone  to  toil  on  through  the  mazes  of  Africa. 
His  step  must  have  been  weighed  down  with  such  a  load  of 
grief,  and  I  looked  mechanically  for  a  footprint  on  the  path. 
No,  it  was  not  there  !  but  on  the  life  of  many  a  follower  it  is 
distinct  enough. 

The  gigantic  baobab  tree  standing  alone,  bearing  many 
initials  of  Europeans,  reared  its  massive  trunk  immediately 
before  me,  and  under  its  shadow  stood  the  pure  white  cross 
erected  to  her  memory.  Out  of  the  stillness  seemed  to  come 
a  far-away  voice  saying,  "I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life,"  and  raising  my  helmet,  I  was  face  to  face  with  these 
words : — 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of 
Mary  Moffat, 
beloved  wife  of  Dr.  Livingstone, 
died  at  Shupanga  house, 
aged  41  years." 
148 


SHUPANGA 


Far  away,  amidst  the  noble,  great,  and  brave,  buried  with 
all  the  pomp  of  a  nation's  grief,  lies  her  immortal  spouse, 
with  the  teeming  multitudes  of  London  to  keep  guard  near 
his  tomb;  but  'twas  from  this  spot,  where  the  rank  grasses 
grow  and  the  mosquitoes  breed  in  thousands,  that  the  noblest 
pioneer  the  world  has  produced  turned  away,  uttering  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  cry — "  O  God  !  heal  Africa's  open  sore  ! 

Amongst  my  many  African  trophies,  none  are  more 
treasured  than  a  few  dead  leaves  and  flowers  gathered  from 
tiie  grave  of  Mary  Moffat. 


149 


CHAPTER  IX 


A  Visit  to  England — A  Sailor's  Blow — Charles  Stokes — 
Germans  and  Arabs — Encounter  with  Masai — White  Man's 
Medicine — Warnings. 

IT  was  now  necessary  to  leave  the  Zambezi,  as  none  of  its 
numerous  outlets  to  the  sea  were  used  by  ocean  steamers, 
so  we  quitted  it  near  Vicenti,  this  being  the  nearest 
point  to  the  Kwakwa  River,  which  flows  past  Quelimane.  A 
narrow  strip  of  land  separates  the  two  rivers.  The  transport 
company's  agent  calmly  sent  us  across  this  isthmus  with  the 
assurance  that  canoes  would  be  waiting  at  the  same  time  as 
ourselves. 

In  the  evening  an  indigo  planter  strolled  over  to  our  camp 
to  see  who  the  strangers  were,  and  on  being  told  we  were  wait- 
ing for  canoes  promised  by  the  agent,  he  smiled,  saying : 

"  I  like  his  coolness !  He  has  no  canoes  up-river,  and 
besides,  it  is  quite  forty-six  miles  from  this  place  to  where  the 
river  is  navigable  at  this  season  of  the  year !  "  This  was  not 
at  all  comforting,  but  our  kind  visitor  soon  put  us  at  ease 
by  lending  us  machilla-men,  and  some  pocket-money  where- 
with to  purchase  food,  and  at  sunset  he  packed  us  off'  on 
that  moonlight  ride  in  a  hammock. 

It  was  an  extremely  kind  action,  saving  us  no  end  of 
trouble.  Starting  at  6  p.m.,  the  men  trotted  along  so  easily  that 
after  a  time  I  slept,  waking  about  6  a.m.  at  our  destination. 
The  twelve  bearers  had  carried  me  forty-six  miles,  at  the  rate 
of  nearly  four  miles  an  hour,  without  a  halt.  The  first  few 
hours  I  lay  awake,  enjoying  the  easy  motion  of  the  trained 
carriers.  The  moon  was  full,  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  I  was  soon  hushed  to  sleep  by  the  rhythmic  tramp  of 

150 


A  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND 


their  feet,  accompanied  by  one  of  those  attractive  Zambezi 
river  songs,  which  should  be  collected  some  day  and  published 
for  our  amusement.  One  of  them  especially  seemed  to  carry 
the  thoughts  away  into  dreamland.  The  soft  voices  appeared 
to  be  at  one  time  pleading  with  the  moon,  imploring  it  not 
to  hide  its  face  under  the  clouds.  Again !  they  seemed  to 
be  in  familiar  converse  with  the  river-bed,  which  was  dry. 
The  rustle  of  the  overhanging  palm  fronds  instantly  provided 
them  with  fresh  subject-matter  for  stanzas. 

It  would  have  been  an  ideal  ride  for  a  poet !  Moonlight — 
stillness — shadows — harmony — Africa!  For  the  time  I  quite 
forgot  the  isolation  and  horrors  of  the  past  five  years.  Had 
I  but  understood  the  words  of  those  songs,  I  think  the  dream 
would  have  been  complete. 

Some  few  days  afterwards  I  hummed  the  refrain  over  to 
a  European  at  Quelimane,  who  was  acquainted  with  the 
tongue.    The  following  was  his  translation  : — 

We  travel  by  night  to  court  the  moon. 

Quickly,  quickly  trot. 

The  river  has  gone  to  find  the  sea — 

Waters  of  salt,  waters  of  salt. 

The  mud-fish  sleeps,  he  has  no  wings  ; 

The  birds  are  peeping  to  see  us  pass, 

As  the  White  man  sleeps." 

This  gives  but  a  very  inadequate  impression  of  the  song  as 
rendered  by  twelve  voices,  harmoniously  varied. 

At  the  end  of  the  dreamy  ride,  canoes  were  hired,  with 
grass  coverings  to  protect  me  from  the  sun.  Under  these  I 
could  scarcely  crawl  among  the  boxes,  and  thus  the  final 
passage  to  Quelimane  was  just  as  uncomfortable  as  the 
former  had  been  pleasant.  All  night  mosquitoes  swarmed  up 
to  a  final  charge  at  their  escaping  victim,  who  was  trying  to 
breathe  out  of  a  corner  of  a  blanket,  whilst  the  perspiration 
rolled  off  him  and  he  was  almost  suffocated.    The  river,  which 

151 


A  SAILOR'S  BLOW 


was  forced  up  into  this  narrow  channel  by  the  ocean  tide,  rose 
and  fell  very  rapidly,  and  with  the  strong  ebb  we  were  carried 
into  our  final  port  in  safety.  A  British  trading  consul  made 
me  very  comfortable.  His  spotless  white  attire  and  neatly 
furnished  residence  compelled  me  to  acknowledge  that  I  had 
slipped  back  several  degrees  from  the  civilised  standard  of 
respectability,  so,  without  delay,  my  travel-stained  garments 
were  exchanged  for  decent  ones. 

After  a  speedy  trip  home  to  England,  marriage,  and  a 
tour  through  the  kingdom  lecturing  on  the  slave-trade,  I  found 
myself  braced  up  for  another  sojourn  in  Africa,  this  time 
taking  my  wife  and  child,  also  two  coloured  people  from 
Jamaica,  and  a  medical  man. 

Amongst  the  crowd  of  men  whom  we  picked  up  at 
Zanzibar  as  porters  was  an  old  mission  boy  who  had  been 
expelled  for  bad  conduct.  He  was  partially  intoxicated, 
and  I  noticed  he  was  making  attempts  to  reach  our  end 
of  the  dhow.  At  length  he  succeeded  in  gaining  his  feet, 
singing  in  disjointed  sentences: — 

"  Here  we  suffer  grief  and  pain  !  " 

All  sense  of  respect  for  Europeans  was  gone  from  him.  I 
was  to  command  this  fellow  and  his  comrades,  and  it  was 
therefore  necessary  to  impress  on  them  all  that  I  would 
not  tolerate  insolence  of  any  description. 

He  gradually   made  his   way   to   where  my   wife  was 
sitting  with  her  baby,  and  put  his  face  quite  close  to  her, 
blurting  out  with  his  beer-reeking  voice  the  second  line : — 
Here  we  meet  to  part  again." 

He  never  spoke  or  sang  a  truer  sentence,  for  I  caused  him 
to  retreat  suddenly  amongst  his  comrades,  where  he  lay  in 
a  semi-dazed  condition  for  the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

"  Is  that  the  way  you  treat  black  men  ?  I  was  asked 
by   my    wife.    "Yes,'"  I  replied,  "it  is,  when  they  dare 

152 


CHARLES  STOKES 


insult  a  woman  of  my  colour — or  any  other  colour,  for  that 
matter."" 

"  It  was  surely  not  a  gentleman's  blow,  was  it  ?  "  she  added. 

"Perhaps  not,"'  I  answered,  ''but  it  was  a  sailor's,  and 
I  regret  having  had  to  teach  him  manners  before  you ; 
but  we  have  to  travel  hundreds  of  miles  with  these  men, 
and  the  remembrance  of  that  blow  will  deter  every  other 
scoundrel  who  may  desire  to  overstep  the  bounds  of  pro- 
priety.*" I  think  it  did,  for  we  had  no  trouble  of  any 
description  afterwards. 

The  night  experience  of  landing  was  unpleasant  enough 
for  men,  but  to  a  woman  and  child  it  must  have  been  most 
disagreeable.  I  was  met  by  Charles  Stokes,  who,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  so  cruelly  hung  by  a  Congo  official  up- 
country,  although  he  appealed  to  be  tried  at  the  coast.  I 
will  not  enter  into  the  pros  and  cons  of  that  painful  episode, 
and  will  only  state  that  I  had  known  him  as  a  good  fellow 
for  several  years.  He  came  down  to  the  beach  and  compelled 
us  to  accept  his  hospitality,  which  was  always  unstinted.  He 
had  some  thousands  of  Wasakumu  and  Wanyamwezi  with 
him,  waiting  to  form  the  annual  caravan  to  Uganda.  With 
much  excitement  he  unfolded  his  plans  for  extending  his  trade 
westwards,  and  I  fear  that  in  so  doing  he  excited  the  jealousy 
of  other  people ;  this  may  have  contributed  to  his  death. 

"  Keep  a  sharp  look-out  for  the  Masai ! ''  he  said.  ''  They 
are  moving  about  looking  for  water,  and  may  attack  you  if  you 
are  not  careful.  Only  last  week  I  lost  thirteen  donkeys  and 
eleven  cattle  by  one  of  their  parties."  This  was  not  very 
pleasant  news,  but  I  thought  it  extremely  improbable  that 
we  should  meet  them,  as  their  country  lay  to  the  north  of 
our  track. 

Stokes  himself  was  an  interesting  study.  Formerly  a  lay 
member  of  the  Church  of  England  Mission,  afterwards 
transport  contractor,  at  the  time  of  our  meeting  he  was 
living  in  a  small  grass  house,  surrounded  by  hundreds  of 

153 


GERMANS  AND  ARABS 


Wasakumu.  Bags  of  rupees  lay  scattered  about  under  his 
bed,  and  his  .happy  disposition  won  for  him  hosts  of  both 
white  and  black  friends.  His  untimely  end  was  keenly  felt 
by  all  his  fellow-pioneers. 

The  general  political  atmosphere  at  the  coast  had  changed 
since  my  previous  visit  with  the  carts,  and  no  wonder.  Europe 
had  begun  to  speak.  Diplomats  had  sat  down  around  their 
tables,  studying  parallels  of  latitude,  river-courses,  and 
mountain  ranges.  Every  river  was  carefully  noted  and  its 
possibilities  :w^eighed,  each  country  asking  itself,  "Does  this 
river  tap  the  great  lakes  ? and  "  What  prospect  is  there 
of  opening  up  direct  communication  from  the  coast  to  the 
healthy  plateau  ?  "  Longitudinal  sections  of  the  country  were 
mapped  out.  Claims  to  fertile  mountain  ranges  were  disputed, 
modified,  or  settled  by  exchange  for  some  equivalent  elsewhere. 

Thus  every  phase  of  the  geographical  problems  was 
studied  and  solved  ;  but  the  people — the  owners  of  the  soil — 
they  scarcely  counted.  It  was  hoped  they  w^ould  not  object 
too  strongly  ;  but  if  they  did —  Well !  it  would  be  a  nuis- 
ance, certainly  not  an  obstacle  to  cause  a  single  plan  to  be 
frustrated.  In  most  cases  it  was  not  the  action  of  a  bailiff, 
but  of  a  usurper ;  not  even  "  By  your  leave  "  prefaced  the 
command  to  stand  aside  and  deliver  up  possession. 

Thus  civilisation  marched  into  Darkest  Africa.  The 
reader,  having  been  made  acquainted  in  the  foregoing  chapters 
wdth  the  state  of  the  interior,  will  probably  decide  that  Europe 
was  justified  in  so  doing.  It  is  no  part  of  my  duty  to  pass  an 
opinion ;  I  confine  myself  to  the  relation  of  facts. 

All  was  in  a  state  of  uneasiness  at  the  coast.  The  Arabs 
who  had  previously  assisted  us  were  polite,  but  now  stood 
more  on  their  dignity  and  questioned  us  about  our  intentions. 
Thus  :— 

"  Are  you  Wa-deutschi  ? "  (Dutch  or  German). 
"  No  ! I  replied.    "  I  am  not." 
Are  they  strong  people  with  plenty  of  soldiers  ?  " 

154 


GERMANS  AND  ARABS 


"  Yes !  very  strong ;  they  have  more  soldiers  than  you 
have  men.'"* 

"  Will  they  take  our  country  ?  " 

This  question  I  evaded,  using  one  of  their  own  weapons. 
"  God  is  great,  and  you  say  that  the  last  prophet, 
Mohammed,  is  dead  !  " 

"  You  speak  words  of  truth,""  said  they. 

At  the  same  time  I  knew  they  felt  it  was  about  time 
to  sharpen  the  sword.  An  old  Arab,  who  had  always  been 
friendly,  drew  me  on  one  side  and,  when  quite  out  of  earshot, 
said  : 

"  Your  tongue  to-day  is  like  those  men  whom,  five  rains 
ago,  you  harnessed  to  those  carts  in  this  town !  " 

To  this  I  replied :  I  don't  understand,  unless  you  mean 
I  am  like  '  a  donkey,'  as  they  described  themselves  ! " 

"  No  !  no  !  I  never  insult  a  friend  !  What  I  mean  is  : 
Your  tongue  is  in  fetters  ! 

I  saw  that  he  had  detected  evasion  in  my  previous  answer 
about  the  Germans  taking  the  country,  so  I  replied : 

"  You  know  that  even  the  frogs  remain  silent  as  the  lion 
passes  the  pool  at  night !  " 

"I  do  ! he  quickly  answered.  "  And  it  is  equally  true 
that  if  you  hear  the  jackal  it  is  nearly  certain  the  lions  are 
not  all  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea.  Let  me  also  tell  you  that 
in  our  great  books  we  are  told  that  a  race  of  white  men  is  to 
rule  this  country,  so  it  must  be  God's  will."" 

On  taking  a  final  leave  of  him,  I  said  : 

"Buriani''  ("Forget  and  forgive'').  "When  the  lions 
come,  remember  what  the  artful  frogs  do.  You  will  find  it 
wise  to  imitate  them." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  he  did  nothing  of  the  sort,  and 
suffered  in  consequence.  His  words  will  serve  to  show  how  all 
Europeans  were  classed  by  these  Arabs  as  Government  agents, 
and  were  consequently  in  danger  of  being  attacked  when  the 
storm  burst.    After  several  such  bouts  of  word-fencino^  we 


ENCOUNTER  WITH  MASAI 


managed  to  get  clear  away,  but  only  just  in  time,  for  the 
Germans  made  war  on  all  the  coast,  coming  in  real  earnest  to 
this  very  town,  and  forcing  the  old  Arab  to  fly  for  his  life 
to  the  hills,  where  he  carried  on  a  long  guerilla  war  against 
them,  eventually  accepting  their  terms  of  surrender  as  the 
inevitable. 

After  a  few  days'  travel  we  had  to  lay  our  first-born  under 
a  shady  tree.  Just  a  little  mound  !  and  "  Harold  Living- 
stone Swann  "  cut  above  it  on  his  living  monument ;  nothing 
more  than  this  marks  the  spot  where  the  little  treasure  sleeps 
in  the  sand. 

We  soon  had  good  reason  to  remember  the  warning  of 
Stokes  about  the  Masai,  for  suddenly  one  afternoon  my 
head-man  came  back  to  me,  in  company  with  three  warriors 
of  the  tribe  in  full  war  costume,  which  consisted  of  a  pair 
of  sandals  (worn  when  travelling  through  thorny  country), 
some  chain  ornaments,  suspended  from  their  ears,  and  a 
girdle  of  leather,  to  which  was  fastened  a  knife  and  tobacco- 
box.  They  were  quite  nude.  In  their  hands  they  carried 
a  long,  broad-bladed  spear,  a  cowhide  shield,  and  a  small 
knobkerrie. 

Having  been  travelling  in  the  rear,  I  was  naturally 
anxious  about  the  vanguard,  and  the  following  conversation 
took  place: — 

"  What's   the   matter  ? "   I   asked,  as  they  approached. 
"  Where  is  the  mistress  and  the  others  ?  " 
"  She  is  crying,  but  all  are  safe." 
"  What  do  these  people  want  ?  " 

"  Lots  of  things,  sir ;  but  first,  they  must  go  with  you  to 
the  other  people." 

I  could  not  speak  a  word  of  their  language,  and  felt 
handicapped. 

"  Are  there  many  of  them  ?  " 

"  Yes  !  about  four  hundred." 

"  What  are  they  up  to  ?  " 

158 


ENCOUNTER  WITH  MASAI 


"Stting  behind  their  shields  in  a  circle  around  our 
people." 

Nice  circus,  I  thought,  but  without  the  donkeys  or 
clowns.  Turning  to  my  boy,  I  took  my  rifle  and  slipped  in 
some  cartridges.  It  was  a  Winchester  repeater,  and  very 
useful  in  a  scramble  with  a  crowd.  "  It  makes  a  lot  of 
business,"'  as  the  cowboys  say.  I  knew  it  was  madness  to  fight, 
but  perhaps  just  as  well  to  let  these  fellows  know  we  should 
not  take  it  "  lying  down." 

Opening  my  umbrella  I  attempted  to  put  on  as  careless 
a  manner  as  possible  (I  was  really  anxious  about  my  wife), 
when  one  of  the  Masai  touched  it,  saying  something  to  my 
head-man. 

"He  wants  it,  sir,"  came  a  very  ready  interpretation  to 
my  look  of  inquiry. 

"  Oh  !  does  he  ?  Then  tell  him  I  have  only  this  one,  and, 
as  he  would  never  think  of  parting  with  his  only  stabbing 
spear,  so  I  cannot  part  with  my  protection  from  the  sun." 

A  grunt  was  his  only  reply. 

A  second  touch  came  on  my  coat. 

"  He  wants  that  also,"  my  poor,  scared  head-man  uttered. 

"  Tell  him,  only  medicine-men  are  permitted  in  his 
country  to  walk  with  white  skins."  (They  cover  themselves 
with  white  pigment;  no  warrior  would  dare  be  accused  by 
the  girls  of  being  so  scared  of  his  foes  as  to  turn  white.) 

No !  tell  him  I  am  not  his  enemy,  to  give  him  my  coat ; 
it's  too  white.  The  sun  darkens  the  skin.  See  !  my  arms 
are  brown  ;  but  my  cheek  is  pale  because  I  wear  this  coat. 
It  does  not  matter  to  white  men ;  they  like  to  be  white,  and, 
when  their  faces  are  white,  their  medicine  is  most  powerful." 

That  put  an  end  to  his  ambition  for  my  coat.  I  guessed 
it  would.  On  reaching  my  companions,  I  found  all  more  or 
less  anxious ;  and  they  had  good  reason,  for  there  was  an 
ominous  look  about  that  circle  of  shields  and  the  ugly  broad 
blades. 

159  I 


ENCOUNTER  WITH  MASAI 


"  Any  one  hurt,  doctor  ?  "  I  asked. 

"No!  But  we  were  ordered  to  stop  and  wait  for  you; 
there  was  no  choice ;  they  surrounded  us." 

The  three  leaders,  who  had  followed  me,  sat  down  behind 
their  shields  like  all  the  others.  They  looked  picturesque,  and 
a  camera  would  have  been  profitably  employed,  with  the 
certainty  of  getting  a  unique  picture. 

I  at  once  objected  to  their  sitting  behind  their  shields, 
and  said :  "  Why  do  you  disgrace  your  chief  by  speaking 
to  a  perfect  stranger  from  behind  your  shields,  and  with 
spears  in  your  hands  ?  Why  do  you  hide  yourselves ;  have 
the  maidens  told  you  your  faces  are  full  of  scars  inflicted 
by  your  conquerors  ?  If  you  are  not  marked,  put  them 
down,  and  tell  your  men  to  go  over  under  those  trees ; 
my  people  will  march  to  the  other  trees,  and  rest  while 
we  talk." 

I  wanted  elbow-room,  as  well  as  to  keep  scoring  small 
points  off  them.  It  neutralises  the  enemy''s  play.  No  objec- 
tion was  taken,  the  shields  were  lowered  at  once,  and  a 
passage  made  for  our  people  to  move  outside. 

"  Now,  then,"  I  commenced ;  "  ask  what  they  mean 
by  stopping  white  men.  Are  they  in  want  of  our  new 
poisons,  which  they  do  not  know  how  to  use,  or  are  they 
wishing  to  see  our  rifles  send  bullets  through  the  shields 
We  will  show  them  if  they  will  put  one  up  as  a  target. 
Or  perhaps  they  are  tired  of  their  chief,  and  want  a  white 
chief?" 

"  No  !  "  came  their  reply.  "  W e  have  poisons,  and  our 
chiefs  are  many.  We  do  not  wish  to  have  holes  made  in  our 
shields ;  it  lets  the  rain  through.  We  are  in  search  of  water 
for  our  cattle,  and  the  grass  at  the  Wami  River  is  sweet. 
We  crossed  your  path,  and  wished  to  see  white  men." 

All  this  was  quite  natural,  although  done  in  rather  a 
high-handed  manner. 

"  Very  well,"  I  said ;     you  have  seen  us,  and  we  must 

160 


ENCOUNTER  WITH  MASAI 


get  on  to  camp  ;  but  as  you  dare  not  tell  your  chief  you 
stopped  white  people,  take  this  piece  of  calico  as  a  token 
of  my  friendship.  It  will  prevent  you  from  being  disgraced 
before  your  women." 

He  was  pleased.  I  do  not  think  that  side  of  the  question 
had  entered  his  brain.  In  less  than  five  minutes  the  calico 
was  being  torn  into  strips  and  fastened  under  the  blades 
of  their  spears,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  decorated 
lances  of  cavalry.  They  had  no  other  use  for  Manchester 
calico ! 

This  was  my  opportunity  to  checkmate  them,  so,  cutting 
off  a  small  branch  from  the  nearest  bush,  I  held  it  out 
to  the  leader,  saying  :  "  Break  it !  " 

When  doinop  a  similar   action  with   the  wish-bone  at 

o 

Christmas,  I  had  scarcely  supposed  it  was  a  rehearsal  for 
such  a  play  as  this.  If  he  had  broken  the  twig,  it  meant 
peace  ;  but  he  declined  !    The  game  was  not  yet  won. 

"  Why  does  he  not  do  as  I  ask  ?  Is  it  because  he  is  not 
the  real  leader  of  the  party,  and  fears  the  criticism  of  those 
boys  of  his  ?  " 

This  query  stung  him,  as  I  intended  it  should,  for  he 
rather  smartly  replied  : 

"  I  go  where  I  choose.  I  break  the  spear  of  an  enemy 
as  well  as  the  twig  of  a  friend ;  but  I  want  a  nice  piece 
of  red  calico  for  my  spear." 

It  had  to  be  Peace  at  any  price. 

Tearing  off  a  few  yards  of  red  twill,  I  half-tied  it  around 
his  spear,  and  with  the  other  hand  again  presented  the  twig 
before  he  had  time  to  forget  his  childish  delight.  "  Break,"  I 
said.  His  smaU  eyes  looked  straight  into  mine  as  he  snapped 
the  twig;  I  imagined  they  said,  "  You  have  won  the  game !  " 

It  was  enough.  I  knew  they  would  never  break  the  con- 
tract. Africans  can  strike  a  hard  bargain  when  they  get  into 
stubborn  moods ;  but  tribal  contracts,  such  as  this,  are  seldom 
broken. 

161 


WANYAMWEZI  AND  MASAI 


"  Go  on,""  I  ordered.  "  It's  all  safe.  Move  away  slowly ;  do 
not  hurry,  whilst  111  chat  with  these  fellows  to  divert  their 
attention.'"* 

Touching  one  of  their  great  spears,  which  were  very  fine 
specimens  of  iron-work,  I  asked  the  owner  to  give  it  me  in 
exchange  for  calico.    He  declined. 

"  Will  you  sell  your  shield  ?  " 

"  No !    I  should  cease  to  be  a  warrior  if  I  did." 

The  man  who  had  conducted  the  palaver  then  handed  me 
his  ebony  knobkerrie,  saying,  "Take  this."'  I  was  naturally 
surprised,  for  it  was  equivalent  to  our  handing  over  a  favourite 
walking-stick,  and  showed  he  bore  no  ill-will.  By  this  time 
our  people  had  gone,  so,  placing  my  half  of  the  twig  in  my 
helmet,  I  said  :  "  Good-bye  !  You  see  I  carry  the  Masai  mark 
of  friendship  near  my  eyes,  in  order  that  I  may  not  forget  my 
promise  to  you."  With  a  swinging  trot  they  disappeared  into 
the  bush,  as  fine  a  lot  of  half- wild  men  as  one  could  wish  to 
see  anywhere.  The  next  morning  we  met  a  large  party  of 
Wanyamwezi,  driving  cattle  to  the  coast.  Cattle  I  knew  would 
be  a  great  temptation  to  the  Masai,  so  I  warned  them  of  their 
presence.  "  We  don't  care  for  any  one ;  we  are  well  armed,"" 
they  replied.  Armed  or  not,  as  they  slept  that  night  the 
Masai  fell  on  them,  killing  many  and  capturing  all  their 
cattle  and  women.  We  were  thankful  to  have  escaped  with 
the  loss  of  a  few  yards  of  calico. 

The  married  men  appeared  to  settle  down  in  the  hills  as 
agi'iculturists,  as  soon  as  they  passed  from  the  purely  fighting 
ranks.  These  attempted  to  give  us  trouble  by  refusing  water. 
Payment  was  declined,  and  no  reason  given  for  their  conduct. 
Arguments  and  threats  proved  equally  abortive.  Water  we 
should  not  have.  This  could  scarcely  be  tolerated,  for  it  was 
then  about  4  p.m.  Every  one  was  tired,  thirsty,  and  perhaps 
impatient,  so  I  buckled  on  my  revolver,  telling  the  boy  to 
follow  me  with  a  jar  for  water,  also  to  bring  a  spear  and 
a  white  bottle.    Every  one  else  was  to  wait  in  camp  until  they 


WHITE  MAN'S  MEDICINE 


heard  the  report  of  firearms,  when  all  were  to  rush  out  with 
water-pots. 

"What  do  you  want  the  bottle  for,  sir?''  asked  the 

lad. 

"  Medicine,  my  son.    The  white  man's  medicine." 

At  the  pool  sat  eleven  armed  natives  on  guard,  who,  on 
seeing  me  approach,  stood  up  as  if  to  dispute  the  path. 
Taking  the  spear,  I  drove  it  into  the  ground  about  five  yards 
from  the  pool,  and  placed  the  inverted  white  bottle  on  the 
top  of  it.  The  men  seemed  amused,  as  I  guessed  they  would, 
and  asked  what  I  was  doing. 

I  replied :  "  In  your  country,  if  you  have  a  dispute  over 
a  garden,  one  of  you  places  medicine  in  it  until  the  dispute 
is  settled,  and  until  that  is  done  no  one  can,  or  will,  reap 
any  of  the  produce.  We  cannot  agree  about  this  water.  It 
is  not  war,  but  simply  a  dispute,  so  I  have  placed  our  white 
medicine  here  to  prevent  any  of  my  people  breaking  your 
custom.  Not  one  of  them  will  dare  to  permit  his  shadow  to 
pass  that  white  bottle." 

I  invariably  found  the  most  efiective  weapons  to  use  were 
their  own,  and  this  case  proved  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

"  You  must  not  do  that ! ''  they  exclaimed.  "  Where  shall 
•we  drink  ?    There  are  no  other  pools  near." 

"  It  is  too  late ;  Fve  done  it.  The  medicine  is  on  guard ;  no 
one  dare  remove  it  but  the  person  who  placed  it  there." 

This  was  a  little  conversation  they  scarcely  expected  ;  they 
saw  their  game  of  bluff  was  likely  to  make  them  as  thirsty  as 
ourselves,  and  it  was  not  long  before  a  deputation  was  sent 
from  the  chief,  giving  his  permission  for  the  free  use  of  the 
water. 

It  was  very  amusing,  as  well  as  an  instructive  study  of  a 
people  with  whom  one  had  to  live.  How  many  millions 
have  been  wasted  on  expensive  military  expeditions  which, 
perhaps,  might  have  been  saved  had  we  really  understood 
the  weak  points  of  primitive  people.? 

163 


WHITE  MAN'S  MEDICINE 


It  was  now  my  turn  to  keep  up  the  farce,  and  to  administer 
a  little  harmless  punishment  for  their  impudence. 

"  Go  and  tell  the  chief  I  accept  his  decision ;  but  also  tell 
him  the  white  man's  white  medicine  bottle  must  be  covered 
with  the  blood  of  a  goat  directly  it  is  broken,  and  the  flesh 
must  be  eaten  by  us." 

The  goat  was  immediately  forthcoming,  and  by  this  time 
their  women  were  as  impatient  to  get  water  as  ourselves, 
for  otherwise  the  evening  meal  could  not  be  prepared,  and 
the  chief  himself  would  go  to  bed  hungry. 

"  The  medicine  must  be  broken  by  my  revolver,"  I  said ; 
"  but,  if  it  refuses  to  break,  then  we  must  sleep  with  dry 
tongues;  there  is  no  appeal.  We  must  remember  in  future 
not  to  quarrel  hastily  over  things,  as  it  makes  it  unpleasant 
for  every  one.    Step  back !    Let  us  hear  the  little  gun  speak." 

Taking  care  to  remain  close  to  the  bottle  for  fear  of  missing 
it,  I  blew  it  to  pieces.  This  was  the  signal  to  my  men,  who 
came  rushing  up  with  their  pots,  howling  with  delight. 

"  Stop ! "  I  cried.  "  The  goat  must  die.  The  glass 
must  be  made  red  with  its  blood  before  you  drink."  This 
done,  I  shouted  out:  "The  medicine  is  dead,  the  road  is 
open,  and  pulling  up  the  spear,  I  left  them  to  quench  their 
thirst. 

I  think  an  innocent  farce  of  this  nature  is  not  out  of 
place  when  life  is  at  stake.  A  false  move  might  have  re- 
sulted in  serious  consequences.  At  any  rate  we  not  only 
obtained  the  water  without  fighting,  but  made  the  owners 
pay  us  a  goat  for  permission  to  drink  at  their  own  pool. 

Rumours  now  reached  us  of  the  Germans  having  landed 

on  the  coast,  and  driven  the  Arabs  out  of  their  strongholds. 

As  some  were  certain  to  retreat   up-country,  it  was  not 

gratifying  to  know  that  we  had  to  pass  their  great  centres, 

and  that  Lake  Tanganyika  was  in  their  hands,  with  our 

comrades,  stations,  and  vessels.    We  met  our  old  companion. 

Brooks,  on  his  way  home  after  seven  years'*  hard  work  in 

164 


WARNINGS 


the  Interior.    I  warned  him  of  the  danger  in  front,  point- 
ing out  that  the   Arabs  would  not  discriminate  between 
different  nationalities,  as  we  were  all  white  men. 
To  this  he  smilingly  replied  : 

"  I'm  not  afraid  of  all  the  Arabs  in  the  country.  They 
know  me  now;  and  as  for  old  Muinyi  Heri  at  the  coast, 
why,  he  has  always  been  our  friend."" 

"  Yes !  "  I  answered,  "  he  has ;  but  a  rat  will  turn  when 
attacked,  and  these  men  have  just  suffered  defeat  at  the 
hands  of  the  Germans." 

"  Oh !  rubbish,"  he  exclaimed.  "  I  have  never  bothered 
about  possible  dangers  since  entering  the  country,  and  shall 
not  begin  now.  Fm  off^  home.  Kwaheri,  tu-ta-onana  tena  ! " 
("  Good-bye,  we  shall  meet  again."")  With  this  pleasant  fare- 
well he  left  us,  and  gaily  tramped  coastwards  full  of  happy 
anticipation  of  complete  rest  after  his  long  service  as  a  layman 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  He  passed  safely  through 
Ugogo,  receiving  near  Mamboia  urgent  warnings  from  the 
Arabs  not  to  proceed. 

"  Don't  come,"  they  wrote.  "  The  country  is  at  war  ;  our 
hearts  are  sad;  our  homes  gone.  We  cannot,  in  our  grief, 
see  your  nationality,  but  only  your  skin;  when  the  heart  is 
full,  the  eyes  are  dim,  and  all  alike  are  foes." 

This  letter  was  sent  to  me  up-country.  It  will  be 
noticed  how  these  cruel  Arabs  felt  the  misery  of  wrecked 
homes.  Had  they  ever  listened  to  the  pleading  of  thousands 
of  mothers  and  children  not  to  be  separated  from  dad  ? 
Never  !    The  cry  for  vengeance  was  now  being  answered. 

To  the  repeated  warnings  Brooks  was  deaf.  "  Don't  be 
afraid !  We  shall  soon  see  the  salt  water,"  he  is  reported  to 
have  said  to  his  frightened  men.  He  reached  camp  only  a 
few  miles  from  the  coast,  and  everything  appeared  to  justify 
his  optimistic  view  of  the  situation,  when  that  young  Arab, 
who,  as  I  noticed  when  I  saw  him  years  before  at  Saadani,  was 
not  very  friendly,  marched  into  his  camp  with  the  usual 

165 


WARNINGS 


salutation,  "Jambo,  bwaria?""'  (Literally,  "Have  you  any 
affairs  ?  "  or  perhaps  better,  as  we  should  put  it,  "  How  are 
things  going  with  you  ?  ") 

After  the  usual  courteous  inquiries.  Brooks  invited  him 
into  his  tent,  and  stepping  in  first  (presumably  to  place  a 
chair  for  his  visitor),  gave  his  enemy  his  opportunity — which 
the  brute  quickly  seized ;  for,  placing  his  gun  to  Brooks'  back, 
he  shot  him  dead.  It  was  rash  of  him  to  run  into  danger, 
but  an  exceedingly  sad  end  to  a  young  life.  "  Tu-ta-onana 
tena  "  ("  W e  shall  meet  again were  his  last  words  to  me.  So 
may  it  be,  though  not  in  Africa. 


166 


CHAPTER  X 


Shooting  Giraffes — A  Cool  Reception — A  Visit  to  Rumaliza — 
Tip-PU-TiB — Anger  of  Tip-pu-Tib — Hostilities  Commenced 
— Congo  State  Officials — Emin  Pasha. 

SOON  after  we  had  left  camp  one  morning,  a  man  came 
rushing  back,  shouting : 

"  Twiga,  bwana,  twiga  !  "    ("  Giraffe,  master,  giraffe.") 
I  had  long  wished  to  see  the  giraffe  in  its  wild  state,  as  it  is 
not  at  all  common  in  these  parts ;  but  farther  north  they  may 
often  be  met  with,  especially  in  Ugogo. 

The  sun  had  not  yet  risen,  and  the  light  was  very  bad  for 
accurate  shooting,  but  such  a  chance  was  not  to  be  thrown 
away ;  so,  hurrying  forward  after  the  men,  we  soon  came  upon 
a  herd  standing  and  lapping  off  young  tender  growths  of  the 
trees. 

Eight  had  young  ones  beside  them.  Two  were  half-grown ; 
the  other  two  were  about  half-grown ;  an  old  male  stood  apart 
from  the  rest,  apparently  watching. 

Directly  they  saw  us,  the  females,  with  their  young  ones, 
moved  away  with  an  awkward  gallop,  the  youngsters  kicking 
up  their  heels  either  in  frolic  or  fear. 

Fortunately  the  old  male  remained  to  get  a  better  view  of 
us,  and  this  gave  me  a  chance  at  his  left  shoulder.  My  rifle 
(a  No.  2  musket)  brought  him  down  with  a  crash,  his  long 
neck  falling  like  a  tree  felled  by  an  axe. 

It  was  my  first  and  last  giraffe  ! 

I  should  not  have  shot  another  even  had  an  opportunity 
presented  itself.  In  this  instance  the  meat  was  needed,  and, 
although  we  had  to  march  that  day  over  twenty  miles,  it  was 
quite  worth  delaying  an  hour  for  the  fresh  food.    He  proved 

167 


A  COOL  RECEPTION 


to  be  a  very  old  male.  All  his  lower  teeth  had  gone ;  his  hoofs 
were  badly  cracked  and  worn  down. 

It  was  a  strange  spectacle  to  see  those  two  hundred  beings 
cutting  up  the  great  carcase  like  half-mad  men.  In  their 
frantic  endeavours  to  obtain  the  intestines  (which  are  considered 
the  tit-bits)  they  smothered  one  another  with  blood.  An  hour 
sufficed  to  cut  up  the  whole  carcase,  to  lash  it  in  pieces  on  to 
their  loads,  and  we  were  off  again  on  the  tramp.  It  might 
easily  be  imagined  that  we  should  daily  see  large  numbers 
of  game,  but  such  was  not  the  case.  Probably  the  first  men 
scared  them  away,  and  the  constant  traffic  would  certainly  tend 
to  drive  most  game  far  from  the  track. 

As  we  approached  Ujiji  I  noticed  that  our  Mohammedan 
servants  became  somewhat  mysterious  in  their  general  conduct, 
the  word  "  war "  frequently  occurring  in  their  conversations. 
Two  messengers,  sent  forward  to  inform  the  Arabs  of  our 
approach,  did  not  return.  This  was  very  unusual,  and  I  began 
to  suspect  trouble  on  account  of  the  war  in  our  rear. 

Not  wishing  to  disturb  the  minds  of  my  companions,  I  did 
not  mention  my  suspicions,  and  we  entered  Ujiji  in  silence. 
Not  a  soul  came  out  to  welcome  us.  What  a  contrast  to  the 
mad  rush  of  our  men  with  the  carts  five  years  previously  ! 
Then  all  was  excitement,  joy,  welcome.  The  usual  presents, 
made  to  all  who  arrive  from  the  coast,  were  this  time  not  in 
evidence.  Not  a  single  person  took  the  slightest  notice  of  us. 
We  might  have  just  strolled  in  from  an  afternoon'^s  walk,  instead 
of  at  the  end  of  a  journey  of  800  miles. 

The  doctor  noticed  the  absence  of  Arabs,  and  remarked  : 

"  This  is  surely  a  cold  reception,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Doc,  it  is !  But  don't  tell  my  wife,  or  the  others ; 
it  will  only  make  them  nervous.'' 

On  reaching  the  centre  of  the  town,  a  solitary  head-man  of 
the  great  Rumaliza  met  me,  simply  saying  : 

"  Follow,  and  I  will  show  you  where  to  sleep  ! " 

We  were  escorted  into  a  courtyard  enclosed  by  high  walls, 

168 


A  COOL  RECEPTION 


built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  and  told  to  make  ourselves  comfortable, 
but  on  no  account  to  walk  about  the  town. 

"  Where  are  all  the  great  men  of  the  town  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  At  prayers,  master  ! 

The  noonday  devotions  were  long  since  passed,  so  I  knew 
he  was  telling  a  falsehood ;  but  other  matters  occupied  our 
attention,  and  we  made  ourselves  snug  for  the  night.  About 
ten  o'clock  that  evening  a  messenger  called,  requesting  me 
to  pay  a  visit  to  Rumaliza,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the 
west  in  our  steamer.  He  brought  also  a  letter  from  a  comrade, 
urging  us  to  come  on  board  early  the  next  day  The  vessel 
was  about  six  miles  away,  as  no  harbour  existed  at  Ujiji. 

All  this  was  uncanny.  I  felt  out  of  touch  with  the  position ; 
but  the  great  Arab  soon  drew  aside  the  veil.  As  we  left  the 
compound,  the  messenger  said  : 

"Tell  your  people  to  keep  the  doors  closed  until  you 
return,  as  hyenas  prowl  about  at  night  and  bite  men." 

I  noticed  the  covert  warning,  and  became  still  more  uneasy. 
The  messenger  had  instructions  that  no  one  was  to  accompany 
us ;  we  were  to  come  alone,  as  his  master  desired  to  speak  only 
to  me. 

"  Small  birds  tell  the  buffalo  the  hunter  is  near,"  he 
whispered,  as  I  stepped  outside  the  door  into  the  dark  street. 
I  thought :  "  He  may  be  the  bird,  and,  possibly,  I  may  be  the 
buffalo ;  but  who  are  the  hunters  ?  *" 

There  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  refusing,  as  we  were 
entirely  in  their  power  ;  therefore  I  walked  on,  trusting  to  this 
powerful  man's  old  friendship  and  loyalty. 

Entering  a  large  courtyard,  I  was  conducted  along  corridors 
dimly  lighted  by  small  palm-oil  lamps.  Not  a  soul  was  about  but 
ourselves.  Passing  through  a  beautifully  carved  entrance,  the 
door  of  which  opened  as  we  approached,  although  no  one  was 
visible  to  me,  I  knew  we  had  entered  the  outer  division  of  his 
harem,  as  the  messenger  closed  the  door,  saying  : 

"  I  must  return  !    Wait  where  you  are  until  some  one 

169 


A  VISIT  TO  RUMALIZA 


comes.  When  I  have  closed  the  door,  give  the  usual  salutation. 
I  must  not  see  the  women,  good-bye  !  " 

A  small  lamp  was  suspended  from  the  low  roof,  and  a 
second  was  half-hidden  in  a  recess  at  the  extreme  end  of 
the  room.  There  was  no  furniture,  nothing  but  a  beautifully 
worked,  coloured  praying  mat  hung  on  the  wall.  I  recognised 
at  once  that  I  was  standing  in  the  private  room  where  the 
master  performed  his  devotions. 

"  Hodi !  Hodi !  "  I  exclaimed.  This  is  equivalent  to  our 
ringing  the  door-bell,  and  is  for  the  purpose  of  warning  the 
inmates  of  your  entrance.  Unless  an  answer  is  returned  it  is 
extremely  bad  manners  to  advance. 

A  soft  female  voice  replied : 

"  Hodini !  hodini !  Karibu,  bwana  !  "  ("  Come  in,  sir  ;  you 
are  welcome.") 

With  a  light  step  a  beautiful  young  girl,  about  fifteen  years 
of  age,  approached,  clad  in  rich  clothes  thrown  gracefully  over 
her  shoulders.  The  draught  carried  toward  me  a  delicious 
perfume,  of  which  these  Eastern  women  are  fond. 

Twende,  bwana  !  ("  let  us  go  together  ")  she  said,  moving 
towards  the  interior  of  the  house. 

I  followed  through  three  small  rooms  into  a  well-furnished 
apartment.  Here  the  girl  beckoned  me  to  be  seated  on  the  sofa, 
saying :  "  Master  will  be  with  you  at  once ;  he  is  having  his 
bath." 

I  had  come  quicker  than  he  anticipated.  I  was  not  kept 
waiting  many  minutes,  for  Rumaliza  came  in  quickly,  leaving 
his  sandals  outside,  and  with  a  smile  held  out  his  hand,  giving 
me  the  usual  Arab  welcome. 

A  lovely  woman  brought  a  bowl  of  water  for  me  to  wash 
my  hands,  another  sprinkled  scent  over  my  handkerchief,  a  third 
placed  hot  coffee  and  cakes  at  our  feet,  which  we  partook  of  in 
Eastern  fashion. 

Telling  the  girls  to  leave  us,  and  not  to  return  until 
he  called,  Rumaliza  commenced  asking  questions  about  our 

170 


A  WARNING  FROM  TIP-PU-TIB 


journey,  e.g. — who  was  with  me;  what  we  had  brought; 
what  news  about  the  war  ? 

I  wondered  when  he  was  going  to  get  to  real  talk,  as  no 
Arab  would  dream  of  inviting  a  Christian  into  his  harem  at 
night  without  some  extraordinary  reason.  Certainly  not  simply 
to  be  waited  on  by  its  inmates,  or  to  gossip  about  ordinary 
topics. 

The  meal  was  soon  over,  the  scented  dark  damsels  were 
called  to  remove  the  utensils,  and  as  they  passed  out,  handed 
us  a  light  fan  to  keep  away  mosquitoes.  It  was  all  very 
picturesque,  quiet,  clean.  Oriental,  and,  in  its  way,  fascinating. 

"  Do  you  smoke  ?  "  he  asked ;  "  because,  if  you  do,  don't 
hesitate.    We  neither  smoke  nor  drink  alcohol !  " 

"  Yes,  I  do  ! I  replied.  "  It  will  help  me  to  listen  to 
your  words." 

He  noticed  the  compliment,  and  smiled.  Both  instinctively 
felt  the  serious  talk  was  to  commence. 

"  Can  you  read  Arabic  ?  "  he  asked,  producing  a  letter. 

"No!  I  cannot;  but,  if  you  translate  it  into  Kisuahili,  I 
shall  understand ! 

"This  letter,"  he  continued,  "came  to  me  ten  days  ago. 
I  was  then  200  miles  from  here.  I  have  been  travelling  as 
fast  as  I  could,  so  as  to  arrive  at  the  same  time  as  yourself, 
or  before,  if  possible.  It  is  from  Tip-pu-Tib,  my  partner, 
who  is  now  on  the  Congo.  These  Ujiji  Arabs  have  lost  a 
great  deal  of  property  at  the  coast,  in  the  war  against  the 
Germans,  and  many  of  their  relatives  have  been  killed.  In 
order  to  be  revenged,  they  decided  to  intercept  your  party 
at  the  last  river  and  to  kill  you  all. 

"  The  calico  was  to  be  equally  divided  between  them.  Your 
arms  and  ammunition  were  to  come  to  me,  whilst  the  vessels 
on  the  lake  were  to  become  the  property  of  Tip-pu-Tib. 
On  receipt  of  this  news  Tip-pu-Tib  sent  special  messengers 
to  me,  requesting  that  I  would  at  once  go  to  Ujiji,  stop 
all  this  nonsense,  and  inform  these  Arabs  that  if  thev  would 

171 


A  WARNING  FROM  TIP-PU-TIB 


not  listen  to  me,  I  was  to  place  myself  and  people  on  your 
side,  and,  together  with  his  retainers,  defend  you  and  your 
property.  I  only  arrived  yesterday  at  your  station,  persuaded 
the  white  man  to  give  me  a  passage  here,  stopped  as  we 
passed  Ujiji,  and  sent  on  shore  my  messenger,  who  only 
reached  the  Arabs  just  in  time  to  stop  their  action." 

"  Then  that  accounts  for  our  not  receiving  a  welcome," 
I  replied. 

"Yes;  you  would  certainly  have  been  killed  at  your  last 
camp." 

"  Will  you  tell  me  why  both  yourself  and  Tip-pu-Tib  took 
our  part  ?  " 

"Because  we  have  no  quarrel  with  you.  We  have  assisted 
every  Christian  traveller  who  has  been  to  Ujiji.  If  these 
Arabs  had  killed  you,  there  would  have  been  much  trouble." 

"  Yes !  there  would.  I  agree  with  you.  It  might  have 
been  difficult  afterwards  to  find  a  comfortable  pillow  on  which 
to  sleep.  I  shall  never  forget  your  kindness.  There  are  few 
men  in  Ujiji  who,  like  you,  have  the  brains  to  steer  a  vessel 
when  the  storm  is  bursting.   Any  fool  can  steer  during  a  calm." 

After  a  moment's  silence,  as  if  he  was  undecided  whether 
to  say  what  was  passing  in  his  thoughts,  he  said : 

"You  must  leave  here  to-morrow  under  my  escort,  and 
not  one  of  your  party  must  linger  in  the  town,  or  I  cannot 
be  responsible  for  their  lives.  The  streets  are  now  dark, 
and  your  presence  here  is  known  by  our  enemies.  So,  if  you 
care  to  sleep  in  my  house,  I  can  make  you  comfortable." 

I  thanked  him,  but  declined,  saying : 

"It  is  necessary  for  me  to  return  to  my  friends." 

Daylight  saw  us  shaking  the  dust  of  Ujiji  off  our  feet, 
glad  to  have  escaped  from  the  warm  welcome  it  had  proposed 
to  give  us. 

I  think  the  most  bitter  enemies  of  the  Arabs  will  acknow- 
ledge that  this  intervention  of  Tip-pu-Tib  and  Rumaliza  was 
worthy  of  all  praise. 

112 


ANGER  OF  TIP-PU-TIB 


It  is  seldom  that  a  Mohammedan  takes  sides  against  his 
co-religionists  in  favour  of  Christians,  and  it  was  the  more 
remarkable  if  we  remember  that  none  of  us  had  any  special 
claim  on  their  protection.  Neither  could  blame  have  rested 
on  these  men,  had  the  plot  been  successful,  as  they  were 
both  hundreds  of  miles  distant  at  the  time. 

About  a  month  after  this  happened,  Tip-pu-Tib  arrived 
and  sent  a  messenger  inviting  me  to  meet  him  for  a  talk. 

I  found  him  bursting  with  indignation,  on  account  of  a 
letter  he  had  received  from  officials  at  Zanzibar,  requiring  his 
presence  at  the  Courts  to  defend  himself  in  an  action  brought 
against  him  by  Stanley  for  damages. 

Pointing  to  the  letter,  he  indignantly  exclaimed : 

"  Look  at  that !  It  is  a  note  ordering  me  to  be  at  the 
coast  in  two  months.  Stanley  accuses  me  of  hindering  him 
on  his  journey  to  find  Emin  Pasha,  and  alleges  that  this  was 
the  cause  of  Barthelot's  death.  If  I  had  wished  to  stop  him,  I 
should  not  have  played  with  the  matter  by  sending  400  men 
instead  of  600,  as  per  contract;  I  should  have  killed  him 
years  ago.  I  do  not  simply  hinder^  I  destroy !  If  I  assist, 
it  is  at  all  costs."  Extending  his  hands,  and  counting  his 
fingers,  he  added  : 

"  Who  helped  Cameron,  Speke,  Livingstone  ?  Who  sent 
Gleerup  from  the  Congo  to  Sweden  ?  Who  saved  your  life, 
and  those  of  all  your  party;  was  it  not  me?  Have  I  at- 
tempted to  hinder  any  missionaries,  although  they  are  not 
of  my  religion  and  hate  my  business  of  catching  slaves  ?  Tell 
me!  Is  there  a  single  European  traveller  who  can  honestly 
say  I  was  not  his  friend  ?  " 

I  assured  him  that  all  had  spoken  of  his  kindness  and  help. 
It  seemed  only  to  fan  the  flame,  for  he  ran  on :  "I  am  mad 
with  anger  when  I  think  of  what  we  did  for  Stanley  during 
his  first  and  second  journeys  through  this  country. 

"  In  order  to  make  a  big  work  out  of  nothing,  he  went  up 
the  Congo  to  find  Emin  Pasha ;  why  not  have  walked  up  the 

173 


ANGER  OF  TIP-PU-TIB 


much  less  expensive  road  from  the  East  Coast?  He  came  to 
Zanzibar  and  begged  me  to  go  round  the  Cape  with  him,  and 
to  bring  my  people,  all  expenses  to  be  paid  by  himself.  I  did 
not  desire  to  go,  choosing  rather  to  walk,  as  I  have  always 
done,  and  to  transact  business  as  I  passed  my  various  depots ; 
but  he  would  take  no  denial,  so,  out  of  courtesy,  I  accom- 
panied him. 

"  He  needed  my  assistance  to  obtain  porters,  and,  because 
only  200  out  of  the  600  men  I  sent  ran  away,  I  am  accused 
of  wanting  to  hinder  him.  Do  they  not  desert  from  all 
Europeans,  as  well  as  from  Arabs  ?  The  truth  is,  your 
countrymen  are  criticising  his  work  and  the  loss  of  Barthelot, 
and  he  is  wanting  to  blame  me.  Barthelot  lost  his  life 
through  bad  temper;  it  was  entirely  his  own  fault.  I  was 
hundreds  of  miles  distant,  and  lost  money  through  the  cannibal 
porters  running  away.  I  cannot  understand  Stanley.  Without 
my  help  he  could  never  have  gone  down  the  Congo ;  and  no 
sooner  did  he  reach  Europe,  than  he  claimed  all  my  country. 
Surely  your  people  must  be  unjust!'*'* 

As  he  finished  this  outburst,  I  quietly  replied:  "Stanley 
has  been  talking  into  one  ear  of  Europeans,  now  you  go 
and  speak  in  the  other.  They  will  listen  to  you,  for  we  are 
accustomed  to  weigh  both  sides  of  a  question  and  love  justice.'"' 

"  Do  you  ?  "  he  passionately  exclaimed ;  "  then  look  here — 
how  did  you  get  India  ? 

"  We  fought  for  it !  " 

"  Then  what  you  fight  for,  and  win,  belongs  to  you  by  right 
of  conquest  ? 

"  Yes  !  that  is  European  law  ! " 

"  So  it  is  with  us  Arabs.  Have  we  ever  tried  to  rob  you 
of  India?" 

"I  may  ask  you,  in  reply,  Do  these  pagans  try  to  rob  you 
of  Ujiji  ?    The  jackal  cannot  rob  the  lion." 

"  Very  well,  then !  I  came  here  as  a  young  man,  fought 
these  natives  and  subdued  them,  losing  both  friends  and 

174 


ANGER  OF  TIP.PU-TIB 


treasure  in  the  struggle.  Is  it  not  therefore  mine  by  both 
your  law  and  ours  ?  " 

It  is  only  yours  so  long  as  you  govern  and  use  it 
properly ! "  I  had  touched  a  sore  point,  for  he  rose  up  and 
demanded : 

"  Who  is  to  be  my  judge  ?  " 

I  knew  he  had  to  hear  his  doom  sooner  or  later,  so,  with 
perhaps  more  emphasis  than  usual,  I  exclaimed,  "  Europe  ! 
We  had  got  down  to  bed-rock  at  last. 

"  Aha ! he  replied,  whilst  a  sickly  smile  played  across  his 
face,  as  if  badly  wounded ;  "  now  you  speak  the  truth.  Do 
not  let  us  talk  of  justice;  people  are  only  just  when  it  pays. 
The  white  man  is  stronger  than  I  am ;  they  will  eat  my 
possessions  as  I  ate  those  of  the  pagans,  and — "  Here  he 
paused. 

Fixing  my  eyes  on  his,  I  asked  : 

"  Well— and  what  ?  " 

"  Some  one  will  eat  up  yours !  " 

Continuing,  he  said :  "  I  see  clouds  in  the  sky  !  The 
thunder  is  near !    /  am  going."' 

I  was  listening  to  the  capitulation  of  Central  Africa''s 
greatest  man-hunter.  His  flag  was  being  hauled  down. 
What  were  the  trifling  inconveniences  of  my  past  life  com- 
pared with  the  intense  satisfaction  of  being  present — the  only 
white  man  present — at  this  great  Sedan  ? 

"Tell  Europe  Stanley  lies;  and  tell  them  also,  if  they  love 
justice,  as  you  say,  to  compensate  me  for  stealing  my  country." 

I  remained  silent,  in  order  to  let  the  great  man  cool  down. 

Noticing  this,  he  asked  : 

"  Have  you  nothing  to  say  to  my  arguments  ? 

"  Yes !  I  have !  It  is  this,  and  I  know  you  are  strong 
and  wise  enough  to  hear  it  without  being  angry  with  me. 
Europe  has  sickened  of  your  cruel  slave  operations,  and  de- 
termined to  stop  them  !  That's  the  '  cloud  **  you  see  in  the 
sky,  from  which  the  rain  is  already  falling  at  the  coast ! " 

175  K 


ANGER  OF  TIP-PU-TIB 


It  was  not  a  time  for  smooth  words.  This  terrible  man- 
hunter  was  at  bay.  Pitted  against  him  were  the  forces  of 
civihsation,  and  wheels  which  have  ground  all  tyrants  were 
sloAvly  crushing  him ;  yet  he  was  strong  enough  in  his  humilia- 
tion to  allow  a  single  ambassador  of  freedom  to  pronounce  his 
doom  without  cutting  him  down  with  the  long  keen  sword 
which  lay  on  the  couch  by  his  side. 

"  It  seems  to  me,*"  he  said,  "  that  Europe  does  not  like 
something  I  do,  and  therefore  is  determined  to  ruin  me.  Is 
that  it?" 

"  Yes  !  if  you  do  not  abandon  your  trade." 

"  You  Europeans  do  many  things  I  abominate,  such  as 
eating  swine's  flesh ;  but  you  never  saw  an  Arab  try  to  destroy 
your  farmyards  on  account  of  his  aversion  to  your  practices." 

"  No,  I  have  not.  But  there  is  a  vast  difference  between 
pigs  and  men,  and,  if  you  will  permit  me,  I  will  ask  you  some 
questions." 

"  Certainly,"  he  replied  ;  "  anything  you  choose  !  " 
"  Well,  then,  do  you  believe  in  one  God  ?  " 
"  Yes.    So  do  all  Mohammedans ;  but  you  say  there  are 
three." 

"  Do  you  believe  your  God  created  everything  ?  " 
"  Yes ! " 

"  Am  I  correct  in  saying  you  accept  everything  He  does 
as,  beyond  all  question,  good?" 
"  Most  decidedly  I  do  !  " 
"  Do  you  believe  in  Shetani  ?  "  (the  Devil). 
"  Yes!" 

"  Did  God,  or  the  Devil,  make  these  pagans  ?  " 
"  God ! " 

"And  yet  every  day  you  deliberately  destroy  His  good 
work,  by  catching  and  killing  slaves !  Has  God  made  a  mis- 
take by  creating  them,  and  asked  you  to  rectify  His  error  ?  " 

"  They  would  not  acknowledge  Him,"  was  his  reply,  "  and 
therefore  have  forfeited  His  protection." 

176 


HOSTILITIES  COMMENCED 


"Then  if  your  son  becomes  undutiful  to  you,  does  it  give 
me  licence  to  blow  out  his  brains  ?    Is  that  Arab  justice  ?  " 

"  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  made  many  slaves,  and  God 
did  not  punish  them,"  was  his  final  reply,  and  I  saw  he  desired 
to  close  the  argument. 

There  was  something  extremely  fascinating  in  this  face-to- 
face  encounter,  eight  hundred  miles  from  British  protection,  on 
the  shores  of  Tanganyika. 

Wealth,  power,  intelligence,  ambition,  and  cruelty  sat  re- 
presented in  that  one  figure  on  the  sofa.  Thousands  of  men 
and  guns  were  at  that  moment  at  his  command,  but  his  active 
brain  had  weighed  them  in  the  balance  against  yonder  little 
rain-cloud,  and  found  them  "  wanting  !  "  Conscious  that 
enough  had  been  said,  I  rose  to  depart,  asking  : 

"  When  do  you  leave  for  the  coast  ? " 
Next  Thursday,"  he  quickly  replied. 

"  Buriani !  "    ("  Forget  and  forgive.") 

By  his  own  decision  he  left  the  interior,  never  lifting  his 
hand  against  the  white  man,  and  doing  his  utmost  to  persuade 
his  partner  to  follow  his  example.  It  has  been  popularly 
supposed  that  he  was  a  kind  of  political  prisoner  at  Zanzibar ; 
this  is  not  correct.  He  had  no  desire  to  return.  I  always 
paid  him  a  visit  when  passing  Zanzibar.  The  last  time  we 
parted,  and  shortly  before  he  died,  he  gave  me  an  autograph 
copy  of  a  brief  history  of  his  life. 

It  would  perhaps  have  been  putting  into  practice  that 
justice  which  I  never  ceased  to  hold  before  him  as  our 
standard  if,  when  he  died,  some  of  our  great  geographical 
societies  in  Europe  had  acknowledged  how  much  they  were 
indebted  to  Tip-pu-Tib  for  allowing  explorers  to  travel  where 
he  was  in  power,  collecting  valuable  scientific  data.  As  it 
was,  all  I  have  noticed  was  the  announcement  of  the  death  of 
that  "  notorious  slaver." 

Rumaliza,  his  late  partner,  elected  to  stop  and  fight  the 
matter  out  to  the  bitter  end.    Communication  with  the  East 

177 


HOSTILITIES  COMMENCED 


Coast  was  now  stopped.  The  Congo  State  sent  an  officer  to 
Tanganyika  with  instruction  to  meet  me,  if  possible,  to  ascer- 
tain the  exact  position  of  affairs.  This  meeting  did  not  take 
place  until  too  late  to  stop  hostilities,  and  the  western  route 
was  blocked.  War  at  Nyasa  against  Mlozi  shut  up  the  south- 
eastern passage;  we  were  isolated,  and  for  over  a  year  could 
not  get  into  communication  with  the  outside  world.  It 
became  too  monotonous,  so  I  wrote  a  letter  with  a  quill  pen, 
using  the  alphabet  of  Pitman's  shorthand  (all  I  could  re- 
member of  it).  This,  written  from  right  to  left,  did  not  look 
at  all  unlike  Arabic.  Rolling  up  the  scrawl,  we  inserted  it 
into  the  barrel  of  a  tower  musket,  and  the  little  fraud  passed 
the  enemy's  lines,  reaching  the  coast  to  the  relief  of  our 
friends. 

With  characteristic  energy  the  Germans  gave  the  coast 
villains  no  rest.  Town  after  town,  each  a  sink  of  iniquity, 
was  swept  away.  Hordes  of  Rugaruga  were  hunted  from 
valley  and  forest,  slave  dhows  confiscated  as  soon  as  captured, 
and  their  owners  who  offered  resistance  summarily  punished. 
There  was  no  compromise ;  the  disease  was  deep,  the  surgeon's 
knife  sharp.  Conservative  surgery  at  this  time  would  have 
been  out  of  place.  The  splendid  pioneer,  Hermann  von 
Wissmann,  like  all  others,  had  been  compelled  to  swallow  too 
many  doses  of  Arab  sophistry ;  now  the  plain  truth,  in  all  its 
nakedness,  had  to  be  heard  and  accepted.  The  Imperial 
Eagle  fixed  its  talons  on  the  quarry,  and  did  not  relax  its 
hold  until  it  had  brought  about  its  utter  destruction.  Fierce 
and  long  were  some  of  the  collisions,  but  the  result  was  always 
the  same. 

The  AVagogo,  who  for  years  had  so  insolently  demanded 
toll  from  the  white  traveller,  peremptorily  ordered  the  German 
officer  to  camp  and  pay  toll.  He  camped  indeed — making  a 
zareba  instead  of  paying  tribute — and  the  sun  set  the  follow- 
ing evening  upon  the  defeated  and  scattered  remnant  of  the 
once-dreaded  Wagogo.    Blackmail  was  dead,  and  the  Kaiser's 

178 


CONGO  STATE  OFFICIALS 


uniform  cast  its  ominous  shadow  westward,  menacing  the  great 
slave-centres  of  Unyanyembe  and  Ujiji. 

Vast  deposits  of  ivory  were  collected  at  the  great  depots, 
valued  at  thousands  of  pounds,  but  there  was  no  outlet  for 
it  to  the  coast.  Wild  rumours  of  a  combined  attack  by 
Europeans  on  the  lake  from  every  quarter  gained  some 
semblance  of  truth  from  the  arrival  of  a  Congo  State  official 
and  troops.  They  established  headquarters  on  the  west  side, 
their  object  being  to  cut  off  the  Arabs  from  their  centre  on 
the  Congo  by  commanding  the  western  trade-route.  This 
they  knew  was  their  trump  card  to  play  in  the  great  diplomatic 
and  commercial  game,  as  it  would  stop  the  enormous  leakage 
of  ivory  from  the  Congo,  which  was  then  passing  eastwards 
through  German  territory  to  Zanzibar. 

To  divert  this  trade-route  was  worth  a  struggle. 

On  calling  to  see  Captain  Storms  I  found  him  sitting 
outside  his  charred  station,  upon  a  camp  -  chair,  with 
absolutely  nothing  in  the  world  but  his  cigarettes  and  a 
few  rifles.  His  whole  station  had  just  been  burned  down  by 
natives. 

"  What's  the  meaning  of  all  this  ? "  I  asked. 

"  War,  sir,  war  !  "  was  his  cheerful  reply. 

He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  European  officer.  His  rule 
was  strict,  but  just,  and  none  but  those  who  sought  to  terrorise 
over  others  objected  to  his  administration.  For  months  he 
battled  against  a  smallpox  epidemic,  inoculating  thousands 
of  people.  "It  is  not  legal,"'  he  said,  "to  do  this  at: home; 
but  my  vaccine  is  spoiled.  Great  diseases  require  heroic 
treatment."  Roads  had  been  cut  in  his  district,  and  security 
established.  This  raised  the  envy  of  some  western  people, 
so  they  set  fire  to  his  house. 

When  I  found  him  in  this  unpleasant  situation  he  was 
under  orders  to  hand  over  his  station  to  the  Alo-erian  Mission 

o 

and  to  leave  for  Europe,  but  he  said :  "  I  cannot  go  now,  or 
the  natives  will  say  they  drove  me  away,  and  may  try  the 

179 


CAPTAIN  STORMS 


same  game  on  others.  No !  I  will  remain  and  make  those 
very  people  rebuild  the  station." 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you,  captain  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  only  want  some  percussion  caps,  and  I  shall  be  happy. 
You  are  not  people  who  take  sides  in  warfare ;  but  grant  me 
this  request,  as  I  think  it  is  in  the  general  interest  of  all  white 
people  in  this  country." 

So  did  I !  I  gladly  gave  him  all  I  had,  and  in  a  few 
months  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  whole  station  rebuilt. 
Having  vindicated  his  honour  as  a  soldier,  he  left  for  home ; 
but  he  had  lost  in  the  fire  his  very  large  collection  of  birds, 
and  his  valuable  photographs. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  against  the  Belgian  officers  on 
the  Congo,  and  I  have  no  desire  to  enter  into  the  controversy ; 
but  it  is  my  duty,  as  well  as  pleasure,  to  record  that  the  two 
whom  I  met  on  Tanganyika,  Captains  Storms  and  Jacques, 
were  gentlemen  in  the  highest  interpretation  of  the  word  in 
their  relations  with  both  white  and  black.  Both  were  fired 
with  at  least  as  much  enthusiasm  as  myself  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  slave-trade,  and  determined  to  extend  to  the  native 
races  committed  to  their  charge  the  blessings  of  civilisation. 

As  I  have  said,  Rumaliza  remained  behind  and  decided 
to  try  conclusions  with  the  Congo  State  for  possession  of  the 
great  ivory  districts  around  the  Aruwimi  River.  Meantime 
a  force  was  collected  by  the  Belgians,  and  a  march  made  along 
the  west  of  Tanganyika.  This,  of  course,  excited  the  Arabs, 
and  a  general  gathering  of  the  clans  took  place. 

I  was  paying  a  visit  to  Ujiji  at  the  time,  and,  when  in  the 
market,  overheard  the  name  of  Emin  Pasha  mentioned  by  a 
native.  Stopping  ostensibly  to  purchase  bananas,  I  heard 
them  say  he  had  been  murdered  near  to  Manyema.  That 
evening,  when  sipping  coffee  with  Rumaliza,  I  determined  to 
find  out  if  it  was  true.  The  news  of  Arab  defeats  at  the  coast 
kept  on  arriving,  and  made  it  difficult  to  speak  on  delicate 
subjects ;  therefore  I  approached  the  matter  casually  by  saying : 

180 


PouxNDiNG  Maize  into  Flour 

The  flour  is  sifted  in  the  flat  basket  and  placed  in  the  earthenware  pot  near  the  hut ;  over  this 
is  inverted  a  small  basket  to  keep  the  dust  out.  The  flour  is  made  into  thick  porridge  for  the 
evening  meal.   If  it  should  be  gritty  the  women  are  very  much  ashamed,  and  the  husband  angry. 


EMIN  PASHA 


"  How  very  stupidly  people  gossip  in  your  market ;  they  are 
like  idle  people  everywhere.  We  have  a  saying  that  Satan 
finds  mischief  for  idle  hands,  and  tongues." 

"I  hope  you  have  not  heard  anything  unpleasant,"  he 
observed. 

"  Oh  no ! "  I  replied ;  "  it  was  only  some  nonsense  about 
Emin  Pasha  having  been  murdered.   Of  course  it's  rubbish." 

I  did  not  take  my  eyes  off  his  face  as  I  uttered  the  words. 
The  shot  hit  the  mark,  and  he  knew  there  was  no  use  trying 
evasion,  so  he  answered :  "  It  is  true ;  he  is  dead ;  it  was  his 
own  fault." 

Going  to  a  box,  he  extracted  from  it  a^  piece  of  bunting, 
and  unfurling  it,  asked  :  "  What  is  that  ?  " 
"  The  German  ensign  !  "  I  replied. 

"Yes,  it  is.  Emin  Pasha  sent  it  to  me  from  Tabora, 
ordering  us  to  hoist  it  over  this  town.  I  have  not  yet  had 
the  heart  to  do  so  ;  shall  I  ?  " 

"  You  have  no  choice,  Rumaliza ;  for,  if  you  do  not,  they 
will  save  you  the  trouble — as  the  country  is  theirs." 

Returning  to  me,  he  continued :  "  Emin  Pasha  was  a 
Mohammedan ;  he  prayed  in  our  mosques.  He  sent  that  flag 
to  replace  our  own,  and  then  went  to  Nyanza  and  hanged 
several  Arabs  in  cold  blood;  therefore  Arabs  swore  to  take 
his  life.  If  he  had  come  this  way  it  would  have  been  the 
same.    Instead  of  which  he  tried  to  escape  down  the  Congo." 

"  You  must  be  mistaken,"  I  replied.  "  Emin  was  a 
gentleman." 

"  I  am  not  mistaken  ;  I  knew  the  Arabs  he  hanged." 
"  What  was  their  offence  ?  " 

"  None  that  I  know  of ;  they  declined  to  sell  him  the 
calico  they  were  taking  to  Uganda." 

It  is  quite  possible  the  story  is  untrue. 

I  immediately  sent  the  news  of  Emin's  death  to  Renter.  It 
was  doubted  for  a  time ;  but,  of  course,  was  afterwards  corro- 
borated.   Rumaliza  was  advised  not  to  fight,  but  he  replied 

183 


EMIN  PASHA 


that,  if  the  white  men  shut  up  the  trade-road,  he  had  no 
choice. 

My  work  called  me  away,  and  promising  to  see  him 
again,  I  set  sail  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air  on  the  lake,  where 
repeated  electrical  battles  between  the  clouds  did  their  best 
to  foreshadow  the  human  conflict  then  bursting  over  the 
whole  country. 


184 


CHAPTER  XI 


Captain  Trivier — Game  Pits — An  Annexation — The  Walungu 
Marriage  Customs — The  Curse  of  the  People 

AFTER  a  pleasant  and  refreshing  voyage  on  the  lake, 
/-\  we  met  the  French  traveller,  Captain  Trivier,  who  had 
arrived  from  the  West  Coast. 

It  was  delightful  to  see  a  strange  face,  and  to  listen  to 
up-to-date  European  news.  He  had  a  companion  with  him 
and  two  personal  servants,  and,  on  my  inquiring  how  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  have  performed  such  a  journey  with  so 
few  men,  he  replied  : 

"Tip-pu-Tib  contracted  to  transport  me  to  the  East 
Coast,  providing  men,  food,  and  safety ;  he  is  acting  in  my 
interests  just  as  your  English  "  Cook  does  for  tourists.  As  I 
shall  not  go  East  on  account  of  the  war,  his  contract  will  end 
here  and  I  shall  go  by  the  Zambezi." 

I  was  naturally  interested  to  know  what  this  stranger'^s 
general  impression  of  the  country  was  like,  and  was  surprised 
when  he  said  : 

"  It  is  all  very  interesting,  except  man !  Let  me  see  the 
wild  grasses,  mountains,  rivers,  forests,  animal  and  insect 
life,  but  not  men — they  spoil  the  picture !  " 

This  sounded  like  an  echo  of  the  familiar  lines — 

"  Every  prospect  pleases,  and  only  man  is  vile." 

How  strange !  It  seemed  to  me,  at  the  time,  about  the 
last  country  to  visit  unless  one  came  in  the  interest  of 
humanity,  or  to  indulge  in  hunting  big  game.  To  me,  man 
was  the  goal,  the  beginning  and  end  of  our  work,  all  other 
subjects  being  relegated  to  a  secondary  position. 

185 


CAPTAIN  TRIVIER 


Trivier  proved  a  most  genial  guest  and  critic. 
"What  has   your  Government  sent  you  here  to  do?" 
he  asked. 

"  Government !  "  we  echoed.  "  We  are  not  officials.  We 
are  sent  here  by  a  society  to  open  up  the  country,  to  estab- 
lish mail-routes  to  the  coast,  and  stations  all  around  this 
lake.  In  fact,  to  endeavour  to  undermine  and  destroy  the 
curse  of  Africa  !  " 

The  answer,  apparently,  was  a  revelation  to  him,  for  he 
continued :  "  I  suppose  you  hand  over  everything  you  get 
to  your  Government  as  soon  as  you  become  possessors  of 
territory  ?  " 

"  Wei],  captain,  the  only  assets  at  present  are — fever- 
racked  constitutions,  and  graves  of  comrades  !  " 

"  Of  course  I  accept  your  words  without  hesitation ; 
but,  to  my  French  mind,  it  is  a  mystery.  For  instance,  this 
morning,  as  I  walked  through  the  village,  a  lad  greeted 
me  with  '  Good-morning,  master ! '  That"*s  not  an  African 
salutation ! 

"  No !  "  I  replied,  "  it  is  distinctly  English  !  " 
"  It  is,"  he  smilingly  admitted  the  fact,  adding,  with  a 
merry  twinkle  in  his  eye  : 

"  I  smell  something  in  the  air !  " 

Two  months  later  he  had  reached  Lake  Nyasa,  meeting 
a  British  Consul  who  had  arrived  to  arrange  peace  with 
the  Arabs,  and  Trivier  wrote  me  a  most  amusing  letter ; 
amongst  other  items  of  news  was  a  description  of  the  meet- 
ing in  these  words :  "  Did  I  not  tell  you  I  smelt  something 
in  the  air  ?  To-day  I  had  the  pleasure  of  saluting  a  British 
Consul,  near  whose  tent  was  flying  the  British  Flag.  I 
wish  you  and  your  country  every  success."  I  fear  he  was 
more  mystified  than  ever  as  to  our  real  object. 

The  gallant  captain  unfortunately  lost  his  companion 
whilst  our  guest.  The  poor  fellow  became  insane,  and 
wandered  up  to  a  stockade  at  night.    The  people,  being  at 

186 


GAME  PITS 


war,  probably  mistook  him  for  a  spy  and  shot  him  dead, 
hiding  his  body  in  a  brook  when  they  discovered  their  mistake. 
White  men  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  surrounded  by  a  kind 
of  mystery ;  natives  feared  to  hurt  them,  dreading  that  some 
serious  unknown  calamity  would  befall  the  tribe  if  they  took 
their  lives,  and  undoubtedly  this  was  a  great  protection  to 
all  early  pioneers. 

While  searching  for  the  body  of  this  unfortunate  man,  I 
had  an  unpleasant  experience.  I  had  been  following  a  slight 
track  through  the  bush,  which  looked  like  a  man's,  and 
coming  to  some  bushes  which  met  across  this  track,  pushed 
through  them  rather  hurriedly,  closing  my  eyes  as  a  protec- 
tion from  the  branches.  In  a  second  I  fell  headlong  into  a 
game  pit.  Luckily  my  rifle  was  fixed  at  safety,  and  did  not 
explode.  I  alighted  at  the  bottom,  partly  on  my  head  and 
elbows,  with  my  feet  in  the  air.  My  position  must  have 
looked  ludicrous  from  the  top  of  the  pit.  The  sun-helmet 
was  jammed  down  over  my  eyes,  and  I  lay  all  of  a  heap, 
partially  stunned,  with  nose  bleeding  freely  and  face  some- 
what damaged. 

Spikes  ! I  thought.  "  Are  there  any  spikes  through 
me  ?  These  dreadful  weapons  were,  I  knew,  used  in  most 
pits.  Scarcely  daring  to  feel,  I  rolled  over  into  a  more 
comfortable  position,  dragged  off  my  impromptu  mask,  and 
caught  sight  of  a  horrid  sharp  bamboo  sticking  up  within 
a  few  inches  of  the  spot  where  my  head  had  struck  the 
bottom.  Three  others,  with  their  points  slanting  inwards 
so  as  to  impale  the  falling  game,  were  still  looking  upwards  for 
a  victim.  Being  too  much  shaken  to  move  for  a  few  minutes, 
I  could  only  lie  and  look  at  those  cruel  points,  which  had 
missed  me  by  a  few  inches.  Only  a  few  months  previously 
John  Kidd,  a  friend  of  mine,  fell  down  a  similar  trap  in  that 
neighbourhood,  one  of  the  spikes  passing  through  his  leg. 

Beyond  a  severe  shaking  of  body  and  nerves,  I  was  not 
much  the  worse  for  this  sudden  let-down.    My  two  black 

187 


SANGALA 


eyes  were  a  source  of  amusement  to  my  boys  when  they 
chatted  over  the  fire,  and  did  not  know  I  was  listening. 

One  little  chap  remarked :  "  Master  went  down  white, 
and  came  up  partly  black  ;  if  he  gets  many  more  falls  like 
that  we  shall  be  all  one  colour.'"  I  could  not  suppress  a 
laugh,  which  they  heard,  and  scampered  off,  probably  to 
continue  the  joke. 

A  period  of  complete  mental  rest  was  prescribed  by  the 
doctor,  so  I  indulged  in  fishing,  and  had  some  that  would 
excite  the  envy  of  every  angler  in  the  world.  The  sangala  were 
at  that  time  in  good  condition,  so  I  was  rowed  slowly  along  the 
rocky  coast,  trailing  a  spoon-bait  at  the  end  of  about  one 
hundred  yards  of  line.  Suddenly  one  of  these  great  fish  made 
a  dash  at  the  glittering  bait,  and  nearly  took  out  all  the  line 
before  I  realised  what  he  was  up  to.  A  check  in  his  mad 
career,  and  a  few  sharp  strokes  with  the  oar,  gave  time  to 
recover  line  just  as  the  fish  sprang  out  of  the  water  almost 
alongside  the  boat.  That  he  was  a  beauty  was  beyond  doubt, 
but  whether  we  could  land  him  was  another  question. 

Using  careful  tactics,  the  boy  paddled  slowly  towards  the 
shallows,  and  this  the  fish  resented  by  at  once  making  for  deep 
water.  A  long  chase  ensued,  with  alternate  hopes  and  fears ; 
but  at  length  his  effbrts  became  less  vigorous,  and  he  floundered 
about  near  the  surface,  where  the  warmer  water  probably  in- 
creased his  weakness,  and  we  drew  him  slowly  towards  us.  I  wish 
I  could  have  photographed  the  dying  monster,  with  his  silvery 
scales  glistening  in  the  sun.  I  could  not  use  the  net,  for  it  was 
not  large  enough ;  so,  making  a  clove-hitch  with  some  spun  yarn, 
I  slipped  it  over  his  tail  and  hung  on  as  he  made  his  final  bid 
for  liberty.  A  few  more  seconds  and  he  lay  at  the  bottom  of 
the  boat.  My  joy  can  only  be  imagined  by  anglers,  for  on 
weighing  he  scaled  thirty-four  pounds. 

Lieut.  Stairs,  whilst  on  a  visit  to  us,  hooked  several  heavier 
than  this,  and  the  Lakes  Company's  employees  netted  one  with 
a  seine-net  which  turned  the  scale  at  ninety  pounds.    It  is 

188 


AN  INDABA 


more  than  likely  that  heavier  sangala  have  been  caught  since 
then. 

I  could  have  revelled  in  such  sport  for  a  month,  but  a 
second  mound  had  to  be  raised,  and  another  shady  tree  found, 
to  mark  the  resting-place  of  my  little  daughter  Eva.  This  for 
the  time  banished  all  desire  for  either  work  or  play,  and  some- 
what neutralised  the  benefit  derived  from  my  holiday  on  the 
water.  The  Walungu,  in  whose  country  we  resided,  owned  the 
whole  of  South  Tanganyika,  and  about  this  time  a  messenger 
arrived  from  the  chief,  asking  if  I  would  meet  them  at  a 
council  to  discuss  tribal  matters.  I  accepted  their  invitation. 
Kitimbwa,  the  paramount  chief,  occupied  the  central  mat. 
Around  him  were  gathered  the  sub-chiefs  and  head-men. 

I  could  not  imagine  what  subject  was  to  be  discussed,  for  so 
far  as  I  knew,  nothing  important  had  happened  to  disturb 
their  calm. 

The  usual  mysterious  and  irritating  preliminaries  in  all 
these  indabas  went  on  for  some  time.  They  love  to  make 
mountains  out  of  mole-hills,  for  these  gatherings  constitute 
a  kind  of  serious  bank-holiday,  and  so  are  made  the  most  of. 
At  length  an  orator  stepped  into  the  clear  space  before  the 
chief,  lay  down,  and  rolled  over  in  the  dust  (an  expression  of 
loyalty).  Pointing  his  spear  to  the  hills,  he  shouted  :  "  Our 
fathers  are  sleeping  around  us,  some  by  the  river,  others  on  the 
hill-tops ;  their  spears  were  buried  with  them,  with  the  exception 
of  one  which  was  given  to  Kitimbwa ;  that  is  it  lying  by  his 
side.  With  that  spear  descended  the  power  to  speak  to  us  as 
his  fathers  did.  To-day  he  speaks  !  Listen  !  these  are  his 
words :  '  On  account  of  war,  and  disease,  the  Walungu  are  few  ; 
their  land  is  extensive,  but  the  children  cannot  protect  it. 

" '  The  Awemba  gave  us  no  sleep ;  the  Arab  ate  up  our 
daughters.  Until  the  white  men  came  we  knew  no  friends. 
They  fed  us  vvhen  our  crops  were  stolen.  They  sheltered  us 
when  our  huts  were  burned.  They  gave  medicine  to  our  sick, 
and  spoke  to  our  enemies  with  guns  in  their  hands.    I  am 

189 


AN  ANNEXATION 


getting  old  and  tired ;  you  are  weak.    Let  us  give  our  land  to 

the  white  men  ! ' 

All  present  knelt  down  and  clapped  their  hands,  saying  : 
"  Tata  witu  !    Tata  witu  !  "  (equivalent  to  "  We  agree ; 

lit.  "Our  father 

Kitimbwa  then  turned  to  me,  saying : 
You  have  heard  our  words.    We  give  you  our  land ;  will 

you  accept  ?  " 

I  explained  that  I  valued  their  offer,  but  that  my  chiefs  had 
no  desire  to  possess  their  country ;  we  came  to  help  them,  and 
did  not  wish  for  reward.  Besides,  I  should  have  to  consult  my 
comrades.  He  answered  :  "  If  you  refuse,  we  shall  be  eaten  up 
and  our  tribe  will  cease  to  live.'"* 

The  pros  and  cons  were  duly  discussed  at  our  station,  and 
we  agreed  to  take  over  the  country  in  the  meantime.  Title- 
deeds  were  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  chief,  and  I  became 
trustee  for  the  London  Missionary  Society  of  all  Ulungu. 
The  map  was  being  painted  red  in  spite  of  us,  certainly  not 
by  our  seeking  or  desire. 

This  proved  only  a  rehearsal,  as  it  happened,  for  the  real 
John  Bull  was  even  then  at  our  doors;  and  if  that  French 
critic  had  been  with  us,  I  confess  it  would  have  been  more 
difficult  to  disabuse  his  mind  as  to  our  real  intentions.  A 
special  messenger  arrived  with  the  news  that  a  British  Consul 
was  approaching.  This  was  a  real  surprise,  for  we  had  begun 
to  imagine  ourselves  independent  people,  beyond  the  thoughts 
of  Downing  Street,  much  too  insignificant  for  this  diplomatic 
notice.  We  were  wrong  !  The  great  John  Bull  was  about  to 
sweep  us  into  the  Empire  whether  we  wished  it  or  not.  I  went 
out  to  meet  the  representative  of  Britain,  expecting  to  see  a 
military  escort,  Union  Jack,  bayonets,  sword,  and  perhaps  an 
eye-glass.  Nothing  of  the  sort  appeared.  Across  the  plain 
walked  a  few  natives  who  preceded  the  Consul.  He  was  a 
small  man,  riding  a  donkey,  and  wearing  a  man-o'-warVman's 
straw  hat,  which  gave  him  quite  a  youthful  appearance. 

190 


AN  ANNEXATION 


As  we  met  he  held  out  his  hand  pleasantly,  saying : 
"  I  am  Consul  Johnston.  Are  you  Mr.  Swann  ?  " 
No  show  of  any  sort,  no  side  ;  just  a  man  meeting  a  man  in 
the  heart  of  Africa.  He  might  well  have  been  mistaken  for 
a  tourist,  taking  photographs.  He  was  scrupulously  attired, 
and  at  home  on  the  donkey.  I  felt  that  this  calm  and  polite 
servant  of  the  Crown  would  have  annexed  half  a  continent  to 
the  Empire  before  luncheon,  making  the  owners  feel  they  ought 
to  reward  him  handsomely  for  the  trouble  of  signing  his  name 
to  the  transfer.  Who  could  have  imagined  that  under  the 
innocent-looking  sailor's  hat,  a  mind  was  handling  difficult 
international  problems  relating  to  territory  extending  from 
where  we  stood  eastwards  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  southwards  to 
the  Zambezi,  and  northwards  to  Cairo.  Yet  such  was  the  case. 
He  listened  courteously  to  the  story  of  our  acquisition  of  the 
country  he  came  to  secure,  without  a  sign  of  disappoint- 
ment. 

After  a  quiet  discussion  of  the  position,  we  decided  it  was 
best  for  treaties  to  be  made  directly  with  the  Crown,  and  for 
us  to  waive  most  of  our  prior  right  to  the  land,  retaining  suf- 
ficient to  build  stations  on  and  to  plant  gardens.  A  voyage 
together  for  several  days,  in  an  open  boat,  only  tended  to 
increase  my  respect  for  Johnston,  now  Sir  Harry  Johnston. 
Although  fond  of  comfort,  even  when  in  the  bush,  he  never 
complained  of  the  many  inconveniences  attending  such  a  voyage. 
His  recreation  was  sketching  aquatic  birds,  wild  grasses,  and 
any  object  of  interest. 

We  rowed  up  the  Lofu,  visited  Kabunda,  a  Balooch  who 
entertained  us  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

The  chiefs  could  not  understand  giving  their  land  away  a 
second  time,  and  asked  : 

"  Was  our  gift  not  acceptable  that  you  give  it  away  so 
soon  to  a  stranger  ?  We  do  not  know  this  person !  Is  he 
your  brother  or  friend  ?  " 

To  all  such  questions  I  replied : 

191 


AN  ANNEXATION 


"  Sign  the  paper ;  it  is  best  to  do  so,  and  then  you  will  live 
in  peace  and  be  buried  with  your  fathers.^' 

I  had  been  reading  of  our  British  troops  marching  out  of 
the  old  Indian  Forts,  when  they  were  given  back  to  the  native 
princes,  with  their  bands  playing,  "Tommy,  make  room  for 
your  Uncle."'  It  was  now  my  turn  to  make  room  for  John 
Bull,  without  the  assistance  of  a  military  band,  and  I  confess 
to  doing  so  with  very  mixed  feelings. 

The  Lofu  valley  being  thus  secured  by  treaty,  we  made  for 
the  east  coast,  where  the  same  process  was  repeated  with 
minor  chiefs  until  the  whole  of  the  south  end  was  practically 
British  territory.  Before  Johnston  left  us  I  remarked : 
"  When  you  are  gone,  and  these  people  are  attacked,  they  will 
fly  to  us  for  protection.  You  have  left  flags  and  treaties,  but 
nothing  to  protect  them." 

"  Yes,"  he  replied,  '*  that  is  true ;  you  will  probably  be 
appealed  to,  and  it  will  be  annoying  because  you  cannot 
defend  them.  Some  one  is  always  inconvenienced  by  great 
changes  such  as  these,  but  there  is  no  occasion  to  anticipate 
trouble." 

We  shall  see  a  little  later  what  was  the  sequel  to  that 
treaty- making. 

A  few  weeks  after  he  left  I  went  out  on  the  plain  to  shoot 
game,  pitching  the  tent  near  to  a  large  village  where  Kabunda's 
people  resided.  The  evening  was  pleasantly  passed  in  relating 
stories  of  travel  and  adventure.  Several  men  gave  a  dance,  and 
all  were  happy.  The  Arabs  had  lived  there  several  years  and 
married  the  chiefs  daughters.  I  moved  away  early  the  next 
morning  to  hunt,  and,  on  returning  about  sunset,  I  found  not 
a  single  hut  standing.  The  whole  place  had  been  burned 
down.  Not  a  living  soul  could  be  found.  The  scoundrels 
had  suddenly  turned  on  the  people  who  had  sheltered  them 
for  years,  captured  them  all,  and  made  them  carry  ivory  to  the 
coast.  I  was  astonished  at  the  suddenness  of  the  calamity  and 
complete  secrecy  of  the  plot.    Poor  Walungu !  their  cup  was 

192 


THE  WALUNGU 


indeed  full  and  running  over,  although  the  British  flag  flew 
over  the  tribe ! 

On  returning  home,  one  of  the  men,  hearing  a  faint  cry 
in  the  grass,  searched  and  discovered  a  baby  boy  about  three 
months  old,  with  its  left  arm  broken.  It  had  been  pitched 
into  the  grass  by  those  fiends  to  die;  they  could  not  be 
bothered  with  it.  We  took  it  home,  putting  the  tiny  arm 
into  splints,  and  gave  it  goat's  milk.  Not  a  single  native 
woman  would  give  it  the  breast !  "  No,"  said  they,  "  we 
cannot  feed  the  child  of  a  stranger;  if  it  dies  we  shall  be 
accused  of  poisoning  it."  "  Keep  away  from  trouble,"  is 
their  motto.  "Mind  your  own  business,"  is  deeply  im- 
pressed on  their  thoughts  from  childhood.  And  indeed 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  common  sense  about  their 
attitude;  for  if  the  youngster  had  died,  they  would  cer- 
tainly have  had  trouble  to  convince  its  relatives  that  it 
had  died  from  natural  causes. 

The  question  now  arose  as  to  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend 
to  that  child ;  some  one  had  to,  as  the  natives  refused. 

I  was  married,  my  companion  was  not,  so  we  cast  lots, 
and  the  lot  fell  on  us.  I  was  never  more  sorry  to  win  the 
toss.  We  kept  the  little  chap  some  time,  but  his  cries  nearly 
drove  us  stupid,  and  we  seized  an  opportunity  of  handing 
"Thompson,"  as  we  named  him,  over  to  our  Jamaica  friends. 
His  mother  escaped  on  the  road,  and  came  back  to  look  for 
her  child ;  she  heard  we  had  found  it,  but  she  lived  a  long 
time  in  a  neighbouring  village,  afraid  to  let  us  know  who  she 
was.    The  two  were  afterwards  brought  together. 

Like  most  other  tribes,  the  W^alungu  sent  their  daughters 
away  into  the  privacy  of  what  might  be  called  a  tuition  class, 
where  they  were  instructed  in  all  the  duties  pertaining  to 
married  life.  This  tuition  varies  in  each  tribe;  some  teachino-s 
are  attended  by  practices  which  do  not  appeal  to  our  ideal  of 
morality,  but  others  are  quite  harmless. 

The  object  of  the  parents  may  be  gathered  from  the 

193  L 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS 


following  explanation  given  me  by  a  father  whose  young 
daughter  (about  ten  years  old)  had  just  been  sent  to  the 
"  Unyago,""  as  it  is  generally  called. 

A  girl  is  married  at  an  early  age,  and  becomes  the 
youngest  wife  of  her  husband,  who  may  have  several  wives 
already. 

As  the  marriage  in  most  cases  is  not  the  outcome  of  real 
love,  it  is  necessary  that  the  child-wife  shall,  as  far  as  possible, 
not  make  her  husband  cross  by  ignorance  of  household  duties. 
She  is  therefore  put  through  a  training  in  everything  which 
she  will  be  expected  to  perform.  Above  all — and  this  seems 
the  main  point — her  childish  will  must  be  completely  broken 
by  extremely  harsh  discipline.  This  is  done  in  order  to  make 
her  obey  her  husband  in  all  things  without  question. 

Girls  in  our  country  are  sent  to  boarding-schools,  not  only 
to  be  taught  the  three  R's,  but  that  their  corners  may  be 
knocked  off  by  others  less  indulgent  than  parents. 

This  same  idea  is  present  in  the  native  mind,  only  their 
manner  of  life  practically  compels  them  to  impart  instruction 
to  their  children  which  is  not  needed  in  this  country,  as  our 
daughters  live  under  our  protection  until  they  arrive  at 
womanhood. 

The  men  expect  to  get  a  wife  w^ho,  as  they  put  it,  "is 
not  an  idiot,"  and  who  will  not  be  continually  crying  for 
mother.  In  order  to  make  them  bear  trouble  without  crying, 
cold  water  is  dashed  over  them  when  asleep,  and  if  they 
utter  a  cry  they  are  punished.  If  they  disobey  they  are  not 
allowed  to  sleep.  They  are  also  forced  to  lie  on  hot  cobs 
of  maize  without  crying.  All  kinds  of  hideous  masks  are 
worn  by  the  old  women  to  frighten  them  into  absolute 
obedience.  If  to  all  this  is  added  other  practices  which  are 
common  to  these  ordeals,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
when  the  girl  is  brought  out  into  society  she  can  scarcely 
face  her  own  parents,  much  less  strangers.  The  little  creature's 
will  is  entirely  broken ;  she  is  scared  of  the  dark ;  she  believes 

194 


A  Marriage  Procession 

The  young  child  brides  are  too  bashful  to  ace  the  camera.    Their  bodies  are  covered  with  oil, 
and  every  scrap  of  bead- work  has  been  given  or  lent  them.    Relatives  are  following  with  a  sleeping 
mat;^  the  inverted  baskets  contain  some  delicacy  to  eat,  and  they  will  be  serenaded  all  night  by  a 
«  dancing,  beer-drinking  crowd. 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS 


all  manner  of  evil  will  happen  to  her,  and  her  people,  if 
she  does  not  implicitly  obey  her  husband  and  conform  to 
all  the  exacting  duties  of  life. 

In  fact,  she  is  an  utterly  different  girl  in  every  respect. 
In  one  month  she  has  passed  from  innocence  to  knowledge, 
childhood  to  womanhood,  and  life  in  all  its  reality  has  burst 
upon  her  young  mind,  well-nigh  leaving  her  hypnotised.  In 
this  state  she  is  paraded  before  the  public,  oiled  from  head  to 
foot,  and  decorated  with  every  scrap  of  ornamental  bead- work 
her  girl  friends  can  lend  or  give  to  her.  The  old  women 
under  whose  training  she  has  been,  with  intensely  anxious 
countenances,  watch  her  perform  the  graceful  motions  of  a 
dance,  arranged  so  as  to  throw  into  prominence  all  the  best 
lines  of  her  figure.  I  have  watched  both  debutantes  and 
trainers,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  both  are 
deeply  serious  over  this  most  important  time  in  a  girl's 
life.  ' 

The  dance  being  over,  she  is  led  away  to  her  husband's 
house  in  the  evening;  and  not  until  she  has  cooked  next 
morning's  porridge  for  her  husband  is  she  allowed  to  break 
the  silence  which  has  bound  her  tongue  for  a  month,  except  as 
used  in  a  song.  With  a  few  minor  additions,  the  above  may 
be  taken  as  a  general  description  of  these  initiatory  functions 
practised  by  the  various  tribes. 

A  most  elaborate  salutation  was  used  by  this  tribe.  On 
meeting  the  chief  in  the  morning,  they  would  at  once  lay  down 
anything  they  were  carrying,  kneel  down  and  clap  their  hands 
several  times,  bending  almost  to  the  earth.  When  meeting 
one  another  the  same  performance  was  gone  through,  accom- 
panied with  the  following  conversation  : — 

"  Our  Father  !    Our  Father  !  " 

"  Have  you  eaten  well  ?  " 

"  How  could  I  eat  when  you  have  all  the  food  ?  " 
This  was  meant,  not  as  a  complaint,  but  as  a  compli- 
ment.  It  was  varied  slightly  as  the  day  advanced,  and  one 

197 


THE  CURSE  OF  THE  PEOPLE 


often  wondered  they  were  not  bored  to  death  repeating  the 
same  words  many  times  a  day. 

So  far  as  intelligence  goes,  I  think  they  were  the  densest 
people  I  have  met.  This  may  have  been  caused  by  the 
long  and  terrible  ordeal  through  which  they  had  passed. 
Having  lived  for  years  on  dried  fish,  they  suffered  from  a 
warty  growth  which  made  it  necessary  that  they  should  be 
isolated  from  the  tribe.  It  was  not  leprosy,  but  persons 
afflicted  with  it  were  not  permitted  to  come  near  the 
villages,  or  to  handle  anything  belonging  to  others,  so  great 
was  the  fear  of  infection.  Two  or  three  years  seemed  to  be 
the  usual  period  spent  in  these  segregated  camps,  many  be- 
coming quite  restored  to  health,  whilst  others  succumbed, 
probably  in  consequence  of  malnutrition  and  want  of  attend- 
ance. Lime,  powdered  and  mixed  with  charcoal,  was  applied 
to  the  sores  as  a  disinfectant. 

One  of  these  camps  was  situated  to  the  north  of  our 
village,  where  lions  often  prowled  at  night,  quite  near  the 
open  houses,  without  attempting  to  touch  the  diseased  people, 
who  appeared  to  court  death — and  no  wonder ;  their  lives  were 
filled  wdth  nothing  but  misery. 

Whilst  I  was  sitting  one  evening  with  my  wife  in  our 
verandah,  she  called  my  attention  by  asking,  Whafs  that  ?  " 
I  had  not  noticed  any  sound,  and  replied  that  it  was  "  perhaps 
the  cattle.^"*  A  few  minutes  later  all  doubt  was  dispelled,  for 
a  lion  roared  close  to  the  stockade,  a  kind  of  challenge  to 
"  come  out  and  take  it !  " 

The  village  being  surrounded  by  high  poles,  with  thorns 

along  the  top,  there  was  no  immediate  danger.    The  diseased 

people  outside,  disdaining  any  attempt  at  defence,  shouted 

back  defiantly,  and  even  challenged  the  brute  to  do  its  worst. 

"  Come  this  way,  and  don't  go  creeping  around  those  poles ; 

you  know  you  cannot  jump  over.     Your  voice  is  like  the 

thunder,  it  makes  plenty  of  noise,  but  it  is  the  lightning 

which  kills;  vou  are  not  the  lightning.    Go  and  hide  your 

198 


THE  CURSE  OF  THE  PEOPLE 


clumsy  head  in  the  hole  of  the  forest  pig,  and  take  care  the 
rabbit  does  not  bite  your  nose."''' 

For  clever,  scathing  sarcasm,  I  think  that  is  extremely 
good.  Then  came  what  to  me  was  a  revelation  of  the  secret 
of  all  their  actions  and  taunts. 

"  Are  your  claws  sharp  enough  to  tear  a  child's  heart  out  ? 
Can  you  bite  me  and  live  Come,  coward,  come !  /  will 
transfer  the  Walungu  curse  to  you  and  your  tribe  for  ever!'''' 

Aha!  that  was  the  secret!  They  believed  the  tribe  suf- 
fered under  some  curse  (how  this  was  incurred  I  was  unable  to 
ascertain),  and  that  if  one  could  provoke  a  lion  to  bite  him, 
the  cursed  disease  would  be  transferred  from  the  tribe  to  the 
lions. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  I  never  heard  of  lions  attacking 
any  of  these  isolated  wretches ;  neither  have  I  been  able  to  find 
a  native  who  knew  of  a  single  instance. 

One  could  easily  have  lived  years  amongst  these  people 
without  knowing  of  this  supposed  curse  (as  they  seldom 
speak  of  such  things),  had  not  special  attention  been  directed 
to  their  spontaneous  expressions  at  a  critical  moment. 

It  will  be  understood  how  necessary  it  is  to  possess  not 
only  sufficient  knowledge  of  their  tongue  to  carry  on  the 
ordinary  duties  of  life,  but  to  understand  the  hidden  meanings 
of  their  somewhat  flowery  expressions,  before  one  can  properly 
read  their  lives.  To  make  a  mental  note  of  the  tribal  curse 
for  future  use  was  the  work  of  a  second,  but  a  much  more 
immediate  practical  duty  was  to  deal  with  that  lion. 

A  goat  was  killed  and  placed  on  the  stockade  to  tempt  his 
lordship,  whilst  three  of  us  kept  watch  with  rifles  behind  the 
fence ;  outside  was  not  good  enough,  as  the  night  was  dark. 

In  a  few  moments  deep  growls  issued  from  the  forest  close 
by,  and  a  whisper  passed — "  Here  he  comes !  " 

The  growls  continued  at  the  same  place,  so  we  imagined  he 
had  either  seen  or  heard  us.    In  this  we  were  mistaken. 

We  were  being  deceived  by  the  same  artifices  that  lions 

201 


THE  CURSE  OF  THE  PEOPLE 


use  to  catch  game  at  night.  There  were  two  at  the  little 
game — one  growling,  in  order  to  divert  attention  from  its 
mate,  who,  before  we  knew  of  his  presence,  passed  within  a 
few  inches  of  our  rifles  on  the  other  side  of  the  fence,  without 
a  sound.  Bang!  went  the  rifle  of  a  comrade,  and  the  lion 
gave  tongue  with  a  vicious  growl,  bounding  away  in  the 
darkness. 

"  Did  you  hit  him  ?    I  asked. 

"  Well,  I  can't  say.  I  don't  see  how  he  could  have 
escaped.    But  he  came  so  suddenly  I  had  no  time  to  aim."' 

Escape  he  did,  for  a  search  next  morning  revealed  only 
spots  of  blood  and  hair  where  he  had  lain  down  to  scratch 
the  wound.    We  never  bagged  him  ! 

On  returning  from  the  search,  I  walked  up  to  the  diseased 
people  who  had  been  quite  at  the  mercy  of  these  two  brutes, 
and  addressing  an  old  man,  asked : 

"  Father,  why  did  you  talk  to  the  lions  last  night — 
were  they  your  friends  ? '' 

With  a  slow,  painful  movement,  he  sat  upright  and  gave 
the  usual  salutation  : 

"  Tata  witu ''  ("  Our  Father  ").  "  The  lions  refused  to  carry 
me  away  to  the  forest  with  the  curse  of  our  tribe.  It  was 
my  last  chance.  I  and  my  children  will  die,  as  no  more  lions 
will  come  my  way ! " 

How  extremely  pathetic  !  A  human  soul,  diseased,  poor, 
and  an  outcast.  Black  of  skin,  with  a  white  heart,  crouching 
on  the  ground  in  one  of  the  most  isolated  corners  of  the 
world,  lamenting  the  lost  opportunity  of  becoming  a  scape- 
goat to  bear  away  the  awful  curse  resting  on  his  tribe. 

"  No  more  lions  will  come  my  way  !  "  None  were  needed  ! 
for  another  stealthy  messenger  saved  them  the  trouble  before 
the  new  moon  was  born. 


202 


CHAPTER  XII 


Making  Treaties — Hunting  the  Hippopotamus — Boiling  Springs 
— Religious  Views — A  Nugget — Scenery  of  Lake  Tangan- 
yika— A  Native  Regatta. 

OUR  routine  of  life  was  again  disturbed  by  the  arrival 
of  a  special  envoy  from  Consul  Johnston,  request- 
ing me  to  make  treaties  with  the  chiefs  at  North 
Tanganyika  on  behalf  of  the  Government,  as  the  Powers 
considered  it  necessary  to  have  such  a  willing  and  amicable 
agreement  with  the  owners  of  the  country  before  claiming 
the  right  to  include  it  in  their  "  Spheres  of  Influence." 

Our  possessions  at  this  time  extended  from  Cape  Town 
up  to  the  lake,  but  a  strip  of  country  at  the  extreme  north 
separated  it  from  the  waters  of  the  Nile;  if  this  could  be 
legitimately  secured,  the  chain  of  possessions  would  be 
complete  up  to  Cairo. 

No  country  had  a  prior  claim  to  this  particular  strip  of 
land.  I  had  a  long  consultation  with  my  comrades,  but 
they  declined  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Johnston's  request, 
stating  as  their  reason  that  it  was  impossible  to  depart  from 
the  Society's  rule  which  forbade  interference  in  politics.  If 
I  used  the  vessels  in  my  charge  for  the  purpose,  it  must  be 
distinctly  understood  that  I  did  so  on  my  own  responsibility. 
They  acknowledged  that  our  country  had  a  prior  right,  as 
we  had  spent  some  thousands  of  pounds  on  the  lake,  but 
their  duty  was  to  obey  the  rules  of  the  Society. 

It  was  a  dilemma.  On  the  one  hand,  an  opportunity 
presented  itself  of  hoisting  our  flag  over  a  people  for  whom 
so  much  had  been  spent;  and  this  was  a  great  temptation. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  had  to  face  this  refusal  of  my  comrades 

203 


MAKING  TREATIES 


to  take  part  with  me,  and  possible  censure  from  the  directors 
if  I  made  the  treaties.  I  decided  to  take  the  responsibility, 
as  it  seemed  to  me  that  no  one  could  possibly  object  to  my 
helping  to  secure  for  the  British  Crown  tracts  of  country 
upon  which  up  to  that  time  nothing  had  been  spent  by  any 
other  country. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  Moir  arrived  from  Blantyre,  and  were 
very  keen  to  visit  Ujiji,  so  I  offered  them  a  passage  in  our 
open  sailing-boat,  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  that  the 
accommodation  was  very  limited,  and  as  the  passage  would 
certainly  occupy  a  week,  it  might  be  very  unpleasant  for  a 
lady ;  also  that  I  could  not  bring  them  back,  as  treaty- 
making  would  absorb  my  time  after  reaching  Ujiji.  Nothing 
daunted  my  Scotch  friends,  so  we  set  sail  for  a  run  of  about 
three  hundred  miles.  The  sleeping-berth  for  one  was  so 
small  that  Mrs.  Moir's  face  was  only  a  few  inches  from  the 
deck  planks  as  she  lay  in  bed,  and  how  she  endured  the  dis- 
comfort was  difficult  to  understand.  Moir  had  to  sleep  on  the 
little  deck  in  the  open  air,  whilst  I  steered  night  and  day. 

On  reaching  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  station,  after 
a  run  of  twenty-four  hours,  I  dropped  off  to  sleep,  while  my 
passengers  walked  on  shore  to  visit  the  hospitable  Padres. 
Ujiji  was  reached  in  about  five  days,  and  there  Rumaliza 
gave  us  of  his  best,  and  entertained  all  our  people  in  his 
usual  lavish  style.  Everything  was,  of  course,  very  novel  to 
this  Scottish  lady,  who  made  good  use  of  her  camera,  and 
afterwards  her  pen,  to  describe  her  adventures. 

Moir  purchased  some  of  the  accumulated  ivory,  and  re- 
turned south  in  a  dhow.  Anchoring  near  Karema  for  shelter 
from  the  monsoon,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  natives, 
who  had  been  attracted  by  the  large  quantity  of  ivory,  and 
who  w^ere  well  known  to  be  quarrelsome  and  dangerous.  I 
never  anchored  in  their  country,  as  it  was  the  only  place  where 
we  dared  not  land.  The  attack  was  so  fierce  that  they  ex- 
perienced great  difficulty  in  getting  away,  the  wind  being 

204 


HUNTING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS 


unfavourable,  and  surf  breaking  on  the  shore.  A  bullet 
passed  through  Mrs.  Moir"'s  helmet,  and  most  of  the  crew 
had  narrow  escapes.  To  this  ordeal  was  added  a  long  and 
stormy  passage  to  the  south  end ;  and  the  strain  on  their 
nerves  quite  counterbalanced  any  good  they  might  have  pre- 
viously derived  from  the  visit. 

The  country  to  which  I  was  travelling  being  more  or  less 
under  the  influence  of  Rumaliza,  I  was  compelled  to  obtain  his 
consent  and  introduction  to  the  chiefs.  This  was  readily 
granted,  and  we  sailed  northwards  for  the  Rusizi  River, 
passing  at  night  between  hundreds  of  canoes,  used  for  fish- 
ing, with  small  charcoal  fires  burning  in  a  frame  at  the  bow, 
to  attract  the  delicious  whitebait  which  swarm  in  the  deep 
waters.  As  the  tiny  fish  are  attracted  by  the  light,  they 
are  scooped  up  with  large  nets.  The  people  loaded  us  with 
bunches  of  bananas,  which  were  growing  in  great  abundance 
everywhere;  and  goats  were  so  numerous  that  we  could  buy 
one  for  a  yard  of  calico,  or  two  pennyworth  of  beads. 

Hippopotami  abounded,  their  fat  being  brought  for  sale 
to  all  the  local  markets.  I  accepted  a  cordial  invitation  to 
see  the  people  hunt  this  animal  with  spears  in  large  canoes. 
It  was  not  comfortable  to  go  amongst  a  herd  of  snorting  hippo 
in  so  frail  a  craft,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  see  danger. 
I  did ! 

Our  canoe  contained  eight  men  beside  myself.  One  at 
each  end  steered  as  required ;  the  remainder  were  armed  with 
stabbing  spears  and  paddles.  We  slowly  approached  the  first 
herd,  but  none  of  the  huge  creatures  would  let  us  get  very 
close  to  them. 

How  do  you  manage  to  spear  them      I  asked. 

"It  is  only  possible  to  do  it  when  they  become  fierce  and 
charge!"  they  answered. 

I  had  often  shot  them,  but  that  was  a  different  thing  from 
enticing  them  to  charge ;  it  seemed  too  risky  a  game,  but  not 
wishing,  or  daring,  to  show  the  white  feather,  I  kept  silent. 

205 


HUNTING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS 


It  would  be  stupid  to  say  I  was  not  nervous,  for  I  was,  having 
no  rifle  and  not  being  a  good  swimmer.  Besides,  I  did  not 
like  being  wholly  dependent  on  some  one  else's  skill  in  avoid- 
ing danger.  I  had  a  longing  to  get  hold  of  the  helm  and 
clear  out  of  an  awkward  corner.  In  a  moment  three  men 
sprang  overboard,  and  quietly  swam  towards  the  herd. 
"  What  are  they  up  to  ?  " 

"  Teasing  them  !  "  the  skipper  replied  ;  "  they  will  not 
attack  us  unless  we  make  them  savage." 

I  unlaced  both  my  boots  and  removed  my  socks,  antici- 
pating a  bath.  It  was  the  only  back-door,  and  I  inwardly 
vowed  never  to  get  into  such  an  idiotic  position  again.  On 
the  approach  of  the  swimmers,  a  male  hippo  dived.  "  Rudi ! 
Rudi !  "  the  others  shouted.  ("  Come  back  !  come  back  !  ") 
These  chaps  knew  what  that  dive  meant,  and  in  a  few 
seconds  they  were  back  in  the  canoe.  As  the  last  one  was 
dragged  in,  the  hippo  rose  with  a  snort  close  to  the  spot 
where  they  had  been  swimming. 

Shouts  of  derision  were  hurled  at  him  by  the  crew  as 
they  picked  up  the  spears.  Down  went  the  great  head  as 
the  skipper  shouted,  "  Look  out,  he's  coming  !  "  Sure  enough 
he  was,  for  in  a  moment  he  rose  a  few  yards  from  the  canoe, 
opened  his  ugly  mouth,  and  giving  a  vicious  snort,  flung 
his  great  head  over  the  side  of  the  canoe.  All  except  two 
jumped  to  the  opposite  side  to  counterbalance  the  weight; 
these  two  dug  sharp  spears  into  the  softer  part  of  the  animal's 
neck  ;  another  hit  him  over  the  nose  with  an  axe.  This  was 
to  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  close  the  nostril,  so  that 
he  could  not  keep  under  water.  His  attack  had  been  rather 
too  sudden,  for  he  succeeded  in  pressing  the  gunwale  under, 
and  the  canoe  filled,  pitching  the  lot  of  us  into  the  water. 

What  with  the  shouts  of  the  men  and  the  splashing  of 
the  enraged  hippo  (which  could  not  dive  on  account  of  the 
cut  nostril),  sending  blood  flying  all  over  the  water,  it  was 
an  aquatic  pandemonium  in  which  no  one  need  desire  to  be 

206 


BOILING  SPRINGS 


mixed  up.  I  saw  the  brute  make  a  plunge  at  the  nearest 
man,  but  he  simply  dived  and  came  up  laughing,  out  of 
danger.  Such  coolness  was  astonishing.  "  Dive,  master,  if 
he  comes  for  you.  They  can't  bite  under  water,  and  he 
cannot  dive ;  the  water  would  drown  him — his  nose  is 
dead." 

This  was  the  advice  tendered  me,  but  I  sincerely  hoped 
I  should  not  need  to  put  it  into  practice.  The  herd  answered 
the  grunts  of  the  wounded  one,  which  made  ofi*  to  join  them, 
going  like  a  motor-boat  along  the  surface,  and  blowing 
jets  of  blood  and  water  as  he  swam.  It  was  the  work  of  a 
second  for  the  men  to  turn  over  our  canoe,  and  a  few  vigorous 
see-saw  pulls  sent  the  water  flying  over  the  ends ;  baling 
completed  the  work,  and  we  were  all  snug  on  board  again. 

The  spears,  having  been  fastened  to  string,  were  hauled  up. 
Anxious  to  impress  on  them  that  I  possessed  an  inquiring 
turn  of  mind,  I  ventured  to  ask,  "  Does  this  often  happen  ?  " 

"  Yes !  but  usually  we  manage  to  keep  the  boat  from 
filling  with  water ;  to-day  we  were  not  quick  enough."  They 
certainly  spoke  the  truth  for  once,  and  I  never  gave  them  a 
chance  to  retrieve  their  character  with  me  as  a  passenger. 

At  the  north-west  corner  of  the  lake  we  discovered  boiling 
water  bubbling  up  at  the  base  of  the  mountains.  It  emitted 
a  sulphurous  odour,  and  tasted  somewhat  bitter.  When 
allowed  to  settle,  a  fine  white  sediment  was  deposited  in  the 
glass.  Several  huts  were  standing  in  the  shade  of  the  over- 
hanging trees,  and  on  going  up  to  examine  them  we  found 
eight  men  with  large  ulcers  on  their  legs.  They  told  us 
the  hot  water  was  used  to  bathe  the  ulcers,  and  that  it 
cured  them  after  a  time.  One  gathered  from  this  that  it 
possessed  healing  properties,  or  at  least  helped  to  kill 
microbes  and  assisted  nature.  The  same  use  was  made  of 
the  springs  around  Lake  Nyasa. 

That  night  we  slept  near  the  spot,  and  felt  several 
distinct  shocks  of  earthquake.    The  natives  assured  me  it 

m 


SPIRIT  HOUSES 


was  quite  a  common  occurrence.  They  called  it  "  The  earth 
shaking  from  the  cold."'  Quite  the  opposite  to  our  ideas  of 
the  phenomena. 

Close  by,  in  a  grove  of  banana  trees,  I  saw  a  group  of 
images  placed  in  a  circle.  They  were  beautiful  specimens 
of  carving,  but  represented  most  hideous  faces  of  men  and 
beasts.  Bead- work  of  a  pretty  design  adorned  the  necks, 
and  by  the  side  of  one  lay  a  broken  spear.  Near  was  a 
miniature  hut,  most  beautifully  fashioned  and  thatched  with 
grass.  It  was  just  a  toy  house,  about  a  foot  high,  such  as 
any  lad  might  make  to  play  with.  A  small  mat  lay  spread 
on  the  verandah ;  a  stool  stood  near  the  door,  at  which  had 
been  placed  a  pot  of  maize  flour. 

I  always  felt  a  great  respect  for  those  attempts  to  pro- 
pitiate the  Unseen.  So  far  as  sincerity  goes,  they  compare 
favourably  with  more  civilised  exhibitions  of  devotion.  My 
men  called  some  natives  who  stood  at  a  little  distance,  and 
I  asked  them  to  sit  down  and  talk  through  an  interpreter. 
They  readily  consented,  and  the  following  chat  ensued : — 

"  Will  you  tell  me  what  that  little  hut  is  for  ?  " 

"  It  is  for  our  dead  chief's  spirit  to  sleep  in."" 

"  Does  your  dead  chief  get  tired  and  need  rest  ?  " 

"  Yes  !  they  have  many  children  to  visit  every  day  ! " 

"  What  is  that  flour  for  ? 

"  For  the  chief  to  eat ! " 

"  Does  he  eat  it  ?  " 

"  No  !  If  we  want  to  go  on  a  journey,  or  need  rain, 
or  any  other  thing,  we  bring  food  here  to  show  our  ancestors 
we  really  want  assistance,  and  they  help  us." 

"You  mean  that  'Leza'  (the  Creator)  helps  you,  not 
your  ancestors;  is  not  that  so?" 

"  No !    Leza  speaks  to  no  man.    No  man  can  speak  to 

Him ;  He  talks  with  our  ancestors,  and  they  help  us  after 

speaking  to  Him ;  but  they  will  not  do  so  unless  we  bring 

here  some  small  present  of  food,  or  oil,  or  beads." 

208 


A  NUGGET 


I  was  listening  to  a  sermon,  the  heads  being:  Faith, 
sincerity  of  appeal,  mediation,  answers  from  the  invisible 
God.  As  there  is  no  record  of  the  Christian  religion  ever 
having  been  taught  to  those  people,  the  sermon  was  inter- 
esting, if  not  instructive. 

Palm-oil  was  being  manufactured  in  all  the  villages, 
affording  employment  to  the  men,  whilst  women  made  pots 
out  of  a  grey  clay  in  which  to  transport  the  oil  to  the 
lake  ports. 

In  the  deep  ravines,  high  upon  the  mountains,  grew 
enormous  trees,  with  gigantic  creepers  running  up  them 
almost  to  the  top.  It  was  grand  to  stand  and  see  these 
lofty  trees  swaying  in  the  wind,  and  interesting  to  calculate 
what  their  value  will  be  when  the  lake  shore  is  populated 
with  civilised  races,  intent  on  building  ships.  Rubber  vines 
appeared  plentiful,  but  the  steep  hillsides  had  been  washed 
almost  clean  by  the  heavy  rains,  and  would  not  bear  a 
crop  even  of  rank  grass. 

I  lay  half  asleep  one  evening,  when  a  voice  outside  the 
tent  asked,  "Master,  are  you  asleep?" 

"  No,"  I  replied.    "  Come  in  ;  who  are  you  ?  " 

My  visitor  was  a  local  Arab,  and  after  assuring  himself 
that  we  were  alone  he  unrolled  a  dirty  piece  of  calico,  out 
of  which  he  produced  a  nugget  of  yellow  metal,  saying : 

"  Is  that  '  tha  habu '  ?  "  (gold). 

"  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  " 

"  Will  you  tell  the  Germans  if  I  let  you  know  ?  " 
"  I  cannot  promise  anything  until  I  know  where  it  came 
from. " 

"  If  it's  gold,  do  you  know  how  to  get  it  out  of  the 
stone  ?  and  would  you  give  us  a  half  share  if  we  let  you 
transact  the  business  ?  " 

"I  cannot  arrange  anything  unless  I  know  where  this 
was  found."  The  secret  I  determined  to  have  first;  the 
other  was  mere  detail. 

211 


SCENERY  OF  LAKE  TANGANYIKA 


Coming  closer,  he  whispered,  "  Near  the  town  of  Ujiji ! " 
His  greedy,  anxious  eyes  were  fixed  on  mine,  trying  to  read 
an  answer. 

"There  is  no  necessity  for  so  much  secrecy,"  I  explained 
when  I  had  looked  at  the  nugget.  "  This  is  neither  gold 
nor  copper;  it  is  valueless.  See!  I  cannot  cut  it  with  my 
penknife ;  it  is  iron  pyrites !  In  future,  if  you  find  any- 
thing yellow  like  this,  and  you  can  cut  it,  most  likely  it 
will  be  gold  or  copper — which  are  both  soft."' 

I  am  certain  he  did  not  believe  it  was  the  truth,  for  he 
said,  "  Give  it  me ;  I  will  take  care  of  it." 

It  is  well  known  that  vast  deposits  of  iron  ore,  of  good 
quality,  are  distributed  all  over  Equatorial  Africa,  awaiting 
the  advent  of  another  race  who  will  turn  it  to  account. 

In  addition  to  palm-oil,  honey  and  wax  were  collected 
and  sold,  a  good-sized  bucketful  of  honey  costing  about 
two  yards  of  calico.  The  wax  was  usually  sold  in  balls 
for  rubbing  the  strings  of  bows  and  polishing  drums.  Others 
daubed  it  over  leaks  in  the  canoes.  Graphite  was  dug  from 
the  hill  and  disposed  of  in  small  pieces  to  the  women,  for 
polishing  their  earthenware  pots ;  the  men  smeared  it  over 
their  bodies,  mixed  with  grease,  especially  during  the  rains, 
when  it  took  the  place  of  an  umbrella,  as  the  rain  ran  off 
its  smooth  surface.  Salt  was  purchased  at  Ujiji  in  exchange 
for  ground-nut  oil.  Thus  these  natives  led  a  fairly  busy  life. 
It  was  the  most  interesting  end  of  Tanganyika.  The  moisture- 
laden  south-east  winds  water  the  whole  mountain  chain,  which 
stretches  away  northwards  in  parallel  lines. 

Standing  on  a  hilltop  and  looking  down  on  this  won- 
derful inland  sea,  I  tried  to  realise  the  feelings  of  the  early 
explorers  when  they  discovered  the  Rusizi  River  flowing  into 
the  lake,  and  not  out  of  it,  towards  the  Nile,  as  they  fondly 
expected  it  did,  and  the  question  arose.  Had  this  lake, 
in  the  heart  of  Africa,  ever  been  connected  with  the  sea.? 
I  could  not  answer  it  myself,  but  science  has  attempted  to 

212 


A  Nati\'e  Smelting  l^u knack 

A  disused  iron  smelting  furnace  with  a  piece  of  iron  ore  at  the  side.  The  furnace  is  made  of  clay 
divided  into  compartments  for  the  ore  and  fuel.  The  bog  iron  is  excavated  and  piled  up  inside  ; 
and  charcoal  and  wood  are  used  for  fuel.  In  some  districts  the  draught  is  increased  by  bellows 
inserted  into  holes  in  the  sides. 


TANGANYIKA  AND  THE  SEA 


do  so  since  I  dwelt  in  reverie  on  the  mountain,  waiting  to 
make  treaties. 

Mr.  Moore,  who  with  others  examined  the  medusas  I 
forwarded  to  England,  was  sent  out  by  the  lloyal  Society 
to  make  further  investigations,  based  on  the  discovery  of 
these  unique  jellyfish,  and  he  tells  us  that  "there  are  great 
quantities  of  jellyfish  in  Tanganyika.  Only  two  instances 
are  known  of  jellyfish  being  found  in  fresh  water,  this  instance 
and  that  in  the  Botanical  Society^s  Gardens  in  Regent's 
Park.  No  doubt  the  latter  specimen  owes  its  presence  to 
some  tropical  plant. 

The  shrimps  are  very  marine  in  type.  The  Arabs  curry 
them.  I  know  of  no  other  fresh-water  shrimp  that  is  eaten. 
Again,  the  shellfish  are  unlike  any  fresh- water  shellfish  now 
known.  Only  the  dead  shells  of  these  had  been  sent  to 
England  before. 

"  All  the  Tanganyika  shellfish  produce  their  young  alive — 
they  do  not  lay  eggs ;  some  have  certain  protrusive  snouts, 
like  certain  salt-water  shellfish.  The  lake  possesses  also 
certain  peculiar  sponges.  Though  not  like  any  known  sea- 
sponge,  they  are  more  like  sea-sponges  than  they  resemble  the 
hitherto  known  fresh-water  sponge.  They  grow  on  the  dead 
shell  of  the  shellfish,  mostly  in  deep  water.  They  are  not 
likely  to  be  of  practical  use,  for  when  dried  they  crumble  to 
pieces. 

"  The  whole  question  has  presented  two  hypotheses — either 
that  the  marine  type  of  fauna  of  Tanganyika  has  been  pro- 
duced by  the  animals  living  in  conditions  similar  to  those  in 
the  sea,  but  without  having  any  connection  with  the  animals  of 
the  sea ;  or,  secondly,  that  the  lake  at  some  remote  period  has 
been  in  direct  connection  with  the  sea.  I  am  inclined  to  favour 
the  latter  view — namely,  that  at  some  very  remote  period  the 
lake  was  in  touch  with  the  sea,  perhaps  to  the  north." 

The  general  aspect,  as  it  appears  to  navigators,  has  been 
well  described  by  Hore  : — 

215 


SCENERY  OF  LAKE  TANGANYIKA 


"  Owing  to  the  immense  evaporation,  the  opposite  shores, 
even  where  only  fifteen  miles  distant,  are  visible  only  in  the 
rainy  season  :  then,  sailing  down  the  centre  of  the  lake,  one 
realises  its  trough-like  character,  but  coasting  inshore,  there 
is  a  great  variety  of  scenery;  here,  for  thirty  miles  at  a 
stretch,  you  sail  in  deep  water,  alongside  the  mountains,  which 
rise  steeply  to  over  a  thousand  feet,  showing  broad  patches  of 
rock  amongst  miles  of  beautiful  trees ;  again,  in  a  few  places, 
shallow  flats  only  permit  access  to  the  shore  by  poling  in 
canoes.  Steep  rocky  islands,  with  dry  soil,  set  out  in  the  lake 
so  as  to  be  always  ventilated,  supply  sites  for  residences, 
and  many  fine  natural  harbours  give  facility  for  navigation. 
Pebbly  creeks,  with  clear  water  and  pretty  shells,  fringe  the 
drier  and  more  scrubby  forest  regions  of  lower  elevation, 
and  invite  the  visits  of  the  buffalo,  zebra,  and  elephant. 

"Muddy  river-mouths,  half  choked  with  reeds  and  papyrus, 
and  swarming  with  hippopotami  and  crocodiles,  afford  a  home 
for  ducks,  geese,  the  ibis,  kingfishers,  the  crested  crane,  and 
other  aquatic  birds. 

"  The  lake  itself,  with  its  long  open  stretches  of  deep 
blue  sea,  causes  all  sense  of  confinement  to  be  lost.  In  fine 
weather  there  is  no  more  delightful  place  for  sailing,  there 
being  but  few  reefs  and  shallows.  The  perpetual  hum  of 
insects  at  night  on  the  shore  gauges  the  distance  from  the 
beach  as  the  boat  recedes  or  approaches,  and  seems,  with 
the  flickering  will-o'-the-wisp  marking  out  the  water's  edge,  to 
welcome  the  home-coming  voyager.  Another  aspect  is  given 
by  the  monsoon  of  the  dry  season,  sometimes  lasting  as  a 
gale  for  four  or  five  days,  only  lulling  slightly  at  night, 
and  causing  a  bad  sea  running  the  whole  length  of  the  lake, 
against  which  it  is  difficult  for  a  small  boat  to  beat. 

"  At  daybreak  masses  of  clouds,  piled  up  on  one  of  the 
great  mountain  capes,  begin  to  drop  down  over  the  water 
as  the  vi^ind  begins  to  rise,  and  the  water  is  lashed  into  little 
waves.    The  wind  increases  until  it  blows  a  gale.    The  sky 

216 


SCENERY  OF  LAKE  TANGANYIKA 


clears,  and  a  great  dryness  follows ;  the  long  row  of  cloud 
masses  on  the  western  shore  remain,  discharging  their  moisture, 
whilst  the  lake  basin  is  hot  and  dry." 

Such  is  the  general  aspect  of  the  dry  season,  and  with 
a  good  yacht,  no  better  sailing  could  be  had  than  to  beat 
down  against  that  south-east  gale. 

I  have  frequently  heard  people  say  that  birds  are  scarce  in 
Africa.  This  has  not  been  my  experience.  Songsters  are  rare, 
I  admit,  but  birds — they  abound  everywhere,  except  in  dry 
forests  many  miles  from  water. 

I  see  Captain  Hore  noticed  this,  for  he  says :  "  I  think  the 
birds  are  most  in  evidence.  The  ostrich  on  the  plains ;  the 
guinea-fowl,  partridge,  and  dove  in  the  woods;  the  pelican 
and  spoonbill,  the  crested  crane,  and  many  others  in  the 
marshes ;  the  spur-winged  and  the  solan  goose,  duck,  and  teal 
in  the  lagoons ;  the  ibis,  the  lily  trotter,  and  a  host  of  others 
in  river-mouths  and  quiet  creeks — all  find  congenial  homes  on 
the  lake  shore  and  adjoining  country.  The  vulture,  the  hawk, 
and  the  fish-eagle  overhead,  innumerable  small  birds  in  the  trees 
and  bushes,  the  golden  oriole,  with  its  noisy  colonies  of  many 
nests  amongst  the  long  reeds,  enliven  every  feature  of  the  scene. 

"  The  seasons  have  their  special  birds.  In  the  freshness  of 
the  morning  the  pied  kingfisher  is  seen,  hovering  over  the 
water  and  dropping  like  a  flash  upon  its  prey;  then  there 
is  the  darter,  the  scissor-bill,  and  at  night  the  goatsucker. 
To  this  list  might  be  added  millions  of  swallows,  which  pass 
twice  a  year  in  their  annual  flights." 

All  these  subjects  I  was  enabled  to  think  about  during  my 
enforced  detention  on  account  of  the  chiefs  not  yet  having 
made  up  their  minds  to  receive  me  for  a  chat  about  the  land. 
It  was  of  no  use  trying  to  force  the  pace ;  that  would  have  sent 
them  into  their  shells  for  a  year  or  two.  Quiet  persuasion 
and  patience,  I  knew,  were  the  most  effective  weapons  to  use 
against  their  natural  suspicion  of  this  utter  stranger. 

As  the  time  was  rapidly  passing,  I  thought  it  well  to 

217  M 


A  NATIVE  REGATTA 


advertise  my  presence  by  organising  a  regatta.  Thirty-seven 
canoes  were  soon  collected  to  compete  over  a  distance  of  a 
mile,  each  canoe  to  carry  six  men,  with  bamboo  poles  for 
punting  in  the  shallow  water. 

1st  prize,  eight  yards  of  red  twill. 
2nd  four       ,,        blue  calico. 

3rd  two  white  calico. 

At  the  discharging  of  a  revolver  the  whole  lot  dashed  off. 
Three  pairs  collided  during  the  first  hundred  yards ;  noisy 
jokes  were  freely  discharged  by  the  competitors,  all  taking 
the  spill  in  the  best  possible  spirit.  In  the  scramble  out  of 
the  water  they  were  blissfully  indifferent  as  to  which  canoe 
they  entered,  their  idea  being  to  get  themselves  first  past  the 
winning  post ;  the  boat  could  not  wear  the  cloth,  and  did  not 
seem  to  count. 

How  frantically  those  men  punted  !  Every  few  seconds 
some  one'*s  pole  stuck,  and  the  punter  fell  headlong  into 
the  water.  Crowds  of  eager  spectators  ran  along  the  sand, 
howling  with  excitement  as  their  respective  friends  led  the 
others.  And  as  for  the  boys,  they  ran  along  in  the  shallow 
water,  stopping  every  other  moment  to  wrestle  with  a  friend ; 
they  threw  each  other  splashing  into  the  lake,  and  danced  on 
the  half-smothered  victim  as  he  endeavoured  to  keep  his  head 
out  of  water. 

They  pelted  each  other  with  sand,  and  when  a  canoe 
capsized,  danced  with  delight  and  shouted  derisively,  not 
exactly  saying  what  the  London  cabby  does  to  a  broken-down 
motor-car  driver — "  Take  it  home  ! — but  asking  in  an  exas- 
perating tone,  "  Why  do  you  try  to  hide  your  faces  in  the 
water  ?  You  capsized  the  boat  on  purpose,  because  you  were 
behind.  Whoo !  whoo !  whoo  !  These  sounds  are  tittered 
in  a  long-drawn,  derisive  manner.  Boys  never  jeer  at  older 
people  than  themselves  unless  they  see  a  certain  way  of  escape 
if  pursued. 

218 


A  NATIVE  REGATTA 


"  You  fellows  know  more  about  pushing  porridge  down 
your  throats  than  pushing  a  canoe  !  The  coloured  cloth  is  in 
front,  not  behind  !  "  This  was  addressed  to  the  last  boat^s 
crew. 

"  Get  out  and  carry  the  boat ;  you  will  go  quicker  !  " 

One  of  the  men,  stung  by  their  reproaches,  jumped  out 
and  went  for  them  ;  but  they  were  off  like  rabbits  out  of  his 
reach,  and  the  next  minute  turning  somersaults  in  the  water, 
or  shaking  hands  at  their  success  in  drawing  the  man  out  of 
the  boat.  They  were  perfect  boys,  full  of  mischief  and  fun. 
An  immense  crowd  gathered  round  as  the  first  canoe  was 
sent  dashing  past  the  post,  and  the  victors  leaped  overboard 
with  shouts  of  victory. 

Swimming  races,  both  under  and  on  the  surface,  followed, 
and  I  don't  think  I  have  ever  joined  with  a  happier,  more 
rollicking  crowd  of  sportsmen. 

The  day's  fun  completely  swept  away  suspicion  from  the 
minds  of  the  people  and  chief,  as  I  hoped  and  intended  it 
should  do.  The  girls,  who  received  the  pretty  cloths  from 
their  brothers,  lovers,  or  husbands,  paraded  through  the 
village  singing  the  praises  of  their  champions,  and  as  usual 
composed  impromptu  choruses  about  the  advent  of  the  white 
man  who  came  to  talk  to  the  chief. 

Dancing  past  my  tent  in  the  evening,  clothed  with  the 
pretty  cloths,  clapping  their  hands,  and  followed  by  a  crowd 
of  young  people,  these  dusky  maidens  sang  : — 

"  To-day  we  throw  ixway  our  skins  " 

(They  had  worn  goat-skins), 

To-day,  to-day  ! 

Our  men  have  beaten  every  one, 
To-day,  to-day ! 

And  now  we  beat  the  butterfly. 
Our  clothes  are  bluer  than  the  lake. 
The  white  man  likes  to  see  us  laugh, 
To-day,  to-day ! " 

219 


A  NATIVE  REGATTA 


How  refreshingly  sweet  and  simple !  Here  was  perfect 
happiness  and  natural  joy. 

Next  morning  I  met  the  chief,  and  when  night  came  I 
slept  with  the  title-deeds  to  their  country  under  my  pillow. 

'Tis  surely  better  to  build  an  empire  on  such  foundations 
than  to  write  a  transfer  of  land  with  the  blood  of  its  owners. 


220 


CHAPTER  XIII 


The  People  of  the  Tanganyika — A  Cannibal — The  Warundi 
— A  Conjurer — The  Fauna  of  the  Rusizi — Attacked  by 
Leopards — A  Storm  on  the  Lake — Swamped. 

THE  Wazigi  tribe,  amongst  whom  I  was  travelling 
making  treaties,  occupied  the  extreme  north-west  of 
the  lake.  Their  chiefs  were  powerful  and  owned  large 
herds  of  cattle ;  the  people  certainly  showed  themselves  to 
be  full  of  activity  and  very  courageous. 

Whatever  trade  they  carried  on  was  done  mostly  with 
the  tribes  who  inhabited  the  eastern  district,  near  to  the 
Albert  Edward  Nyanza,  from  whence  they  obtained  great 
quantities  of  ivory  in  exchange  for  hoes,  salt,  and  gunpowder, 
which  the  Arabs  imported  from  the  East  Coast. 

Near  to  them  lived  the  Warundi,  who  physically  were  a 
much  finer  race  of  men  and  women.  It  was  their  practice  to 
decorate  themselves  with  elaborate  tattoo  marks,  or  patches 
of  red  and  white  pigment.  They  are  the  real  fishermen  of 
the  lake,  being  expert  with  spear,  net,  and  hook,  and  in 
every  respect  perfect  watermen.  Their  villages  were  composed 
of  small  family  groups  who  chose  to  live  separated  from  the 
great  towns,  where,  they  say,  there  is  no  peace,  but  too  much 
annoyance. 

Food  was  abundant  everywhere.  Tobacco  was  to  be  seen 
growing  most  luxuriantly  in  the  dark  loam  at  the  base  of 
the  hills.  The  Warundi  being  very  powerful,  none  dared  to 
molest  them,  with  the  result  that  their  gardens  were  both 
large  and  well  stocked,  and  the  numerous  grain  stores,  in 
every  village,  testified  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  community. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture 

221 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  TANGANYIKA 


the  north  end  of  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa  should  be  selected  for 
growing  coffee,  tobacco,  and  palm-oil. 

The  glossy  skins  of  the  cattle  spoke  eloquently  of  the  rich 
grass-land  on  which  they  were  reared.  Milk  and  sour  cream 
could  be  purchased  for  a  trifle,  and  could  even  be  had  for 
nothing  in  some  of  the  towns  where  cattle  were  plentiful.  As 
for  bananas,  they  rotted  on  the  trees. 

I  was  much  impressed  with  the  numerous  markets  held 
every  day  in  most  of  the  principal  villages.  There  being 
no  money,  and  very  little  calico,  the  common  currency  was 
rings  of  iron  wire  twisted  around  a  nucleus  of  stiff  reed, 
the  value  of  which  was  determined  by  the  fineness  of  the 
wire.  Ten  of  these  rings  would  purchase  about  as  much  as 
a  yard  of  calico. 

Native-made  hoes  were  offered  for  sale  in  great  numbers, 
and  transported  westwards  to  the  Mitamba  forest  dwarfs 
in  exchange  for  ivory.  Their  neighbours,  the  Watusi,  were 
purely  breeders  of  cattle.  The  men  were  tall,  slim,  and 
dignified,  whilst  the  women  were  both  graceful  and  pretty, 
but  extremely  shy  of  strangers,  not  mixing  freely  with  people 
in  the  market-places,  as  at  Ujiji  and  other  towns. 

The  large  pearl  mussel  was  brought  for  sale,  but  was 
not  edible.  The  shell  was  coated  on  the  inside  with  mother- 
o'-pearl,  so  we  inserted  under  the  lip  a  small  particle  of 
sand  and  replaced  the  bivalve  in  a  protected  corner  of 
the  lake.  In  five  months  each  mussel  contained  a  small 
pearl ;  but  several  were  attached  to  the  shell  and  were  value- 
less. It  proved  that  pearls  could  be  produced  in  this  manner, 
but  I  think  the  mussel  is  too  small  to  warrant  any  outlay  of 
capital  on  the  enterprise.  Whilst  we  were  at  anchor  in  a 
small  creek,  a  most  hideous  creature  came  and  danced  before 
my  tent.  I  found  that  previously  he  had  been  annoying  the 
boat's  crew.  His  face  was  pitted  from  smallpox ;  his  eyes 
were  bloodshot ;  all  his  upper  teeth  had  been  filed  to  a 
point  to  enable  him  to  tear  raw  meat.    Cat-skins  adorned 

222 


An  Elabora'Ikly  Carxed  Pipe 

The  bowl  is  made  of  burnt  clay.  A  woman  is  represented  holding  a  bowl 
on  which  her  lord's  pipe  rests,  typifying  the  servile  position  of  woman. 
Such  pipes  are  very  uncommon;  none  but  chiefs  or  near  relatives  are  allowed 
to  smoke  them.    Native  tobacco  when  properly  cured  is  fairly  good. 


Drying  F'ishing  Nets  above  the  Sand 

The  sun  makes  the  sand  so  hot  that  it  burns  the  nets,  therefore  they  are  hung  upon  sticks.  The  cord 
spun  from  a  vegetable  fibre  ;  it  is  untanned  and  therefore  does  not  last  long,  but  it  is  fairly  strong. 


A  CANNIBAL 


his  body ;  one  leg  was  painted  with  red  ochre,  the  other 
with  white  kaolin.  His  hair  was  twisted  into  long  curls, 
which  hung  around  his  head ;  from  the  ends  of  these  curls 
palm-oil  was  dripping  on  to  his  neck  and  back. 

After  a  long  series  of  disgusting  evolutions  and  weird 
shrieks,  he  rolled  over  on  the  ground,  up  to  my  feet,  and 
lay  with  his  face  near  to  the  sand,  handfuls  of  which  he 
was  thrusting  into  his  mouth  and  then  ejecting.  I  was 
sure  this  had  some  meaning,  but  his  language  being  unknown 
to  me,  I  asked  an  interpreter  what  he  wanted. 

"  Food,  master,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Very  well,  give  him  some  maize  meal." 

"  He  won't  eat  porridge ;  he  wants  meat." 

"  All  right !  I  suppose  he  is  mad ;  give  him  some  goat's 
meat — there  is  plenty  in  the  boat." 

This  was  offered  to  him,  but  he  refused,  saying,  "  The 
child  of  the  lizard  only  eats  live  meat ! " 

"  Live  meat !    What  does  he  mean  ?  " 

"  He  wants  you  to  give  him  one  of  your  boatmen  !  " 

The  interpreter  turned  and  pointed  to  the  boat  as  he 
said  these  words,  and  this  beast  sprang  to  his  feet,  poised 
aloft  his  spear,  making  vigorous  thrusts  with  it  in  the 
direction  of  the  vessel. 

"  Tell  him  I  require  all  my  men  to  fill  the  boat ;  we  don't 
use  them  for  filling  hungry  mouths." 

This  decision  did  not  please  him,  for  with  a  frown  at 
me  he  sneaked  away  into  the  bush;  but  I  had  him  cleared 
out  of  it  before  the  sun  went  down,  as  I  like  neither  sneak- 
ing lion  nor  man.    They  cannot  be  trusted. 

It  transpired  that  he  had  walked  over  from  Manyema, 
and  was  not  only  a  cannibal  but  a  Mfiti,  who  was  supposed 
to  disinter  bodies  and  eat  them.  It  was  the  first  specimen 
I  had  encountered,  and  certainly  if  there  is  a  missing  link 
anywhere  he  would  almost  fulfil  the  necessary  conditions; 
for  I  have  seen  far  saner  and  more  intelligent  apes  than  this 

225 


A  BRAVE  ACTION 


half-man,  half-beast  who  begged  for  live  flesh  to  eat.  To 
the  west,  many  of  the  tribes  are  known  to  be  cannibals. 

Like  most  of  the  northern  tribes,  the  Warundi  were  clever 
workers  in  iron,  but  could  not  show  such  fine  workmanship 
as  the  skilled  men  on  the  Zambezi. 

One  of  these  Warundi  young  men  performed  a  brave 
action  whilst  I  was  in  port.  Near  to  the  boat,  some  youngsters 
were  bathing  and  having  the  usual  game  of  hide-and-seek 
under  the  water,  when  one  was  seized  by  a  crocodile.  The 
lad's  brother,  who  was  standing  on  the  shore,  seeing  his 
brother  in  trouble,  without  the  least  hesitation  leaped  into 
the  water  amongst  the  screaming  boys  and  dealt  the  croc 
a  heavy  blow  on  the  nose  with  his  axe.  This  made  him 
release  the  boy,  who  was  promptly  dragged  on  shore.  Blood- 
poisoning  set  in  and  he  died,  but  I  thought  the  brother  had 
made  a  most  plucky  attempt  to  save  him,  and  calling  him 
the  next  day,  I  rewarded  his  bravery  with  a  large  packet 
of  salt.  It  was  difficult  to  get  him  to  understand  why  he 
was  receiving  the  present,  because  they  never  understand  the 
reason  for  a  gift ;  it  seems  to  them  so  utterly  ridiculous  "  to 
give  something  for  nothing,"  as  they  term  it. 

This  attitude  of  most  Africans  cannot  be  too  often 
brought  to  the  notice  of  young  people  who  intend  to  work 
amongst  them.  You  can  never  win  respect  by  presents; 
they  at  once  consider  you  deficient  in  intellect,  or  as  having 
some  sinister  motive  which  they  are  unable  to  understand, 
and  hence  their  suspicions  are  aroused.  This  is  fatal,  as  their 
confidence  is  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  afterwards. 

The  croc  was  shot  as  it  tried  to  crawl  into  shallow  water ; 
the  nose  having  been  cut  through,  it  could  not  go  into 
deep  water.  On  opening  its  stomach  we  found  a  large  piece 
of  white  quartz  about  4  lbs.  in  weight ;  this,  the  natives 
explained,  was  swallowed  by  the  animal  as  ballast,''  to 
enable  it  to  lie  on  the  bottom  of  the  river.  Strange  to 
relate,  I  shot  another,  years  afterwards,  on  the  Lake  Nyasa, 

226 


A  CONJURER 


which  had  a  similar  lump  of  quartz  in  its  stomach,  and  a 
Swahili  man  gave  me  exactly  the  same  explanation.  The 
latter  piece  of  quartz  was  for  years  exhibited  in  the  Govern- 
ment Offices  at  Kotakota,  covered  with  particles  of  otter 
hair,  showing  that  the  crocodile  had  been  swift  enough  to 
catch  that  alert  creature. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening,  after  the  excitement  had 
abated,  we  sat  and  discussed  crocodiles  and  other  dangerous 
beasts;  the  conversation  turning  to  a  wonderful  man  who 
could  entice  them  out  of  the  water  whenever  he  pleased  by 
simply  whistling.  Having  had  an  interesting  exhibition  of 
this  whistling  power,  I  expressed  doubts,  when  an  Arab  said, 
"  You  doubt  my  words,  do  you  ?    Ill  fetch  him  !  " 

"  I  do  not  doubt  there  is  a  man  who  whistles,"  I  replied ; 
"  but  that  he  can  make  the  crocodiles  come  at  his  call,  I 
think  is  too  stupid  for  children,  much  more  for  men,  to 
believe."** 

After  a  lot  of  fuss  the  interesting  individual  appeared. 
He  prated  the  usual  rubbish  about  the  moon  not  being  on 
its  right  side  and  the  stars  not  yet  awake,  but  seeing  me 
smile,  he  got  to  business  and  asked,  "  Will  the  white  man 
pay  me  for  my  services  ? "  Servant  girl  and  gipsy  came  into 
my  mind,  for  the  man  actually  repeated  the  old  formula  in 
another  language — "Will  the  sweet  maiden  cross  my  hand 
with  silver  ? 

"  I  am  told  you  call  to  crocodiles  in  that  lake  and  they 
come  on  shore.  If  you  can  do  that  I  will  certainly  pay. 
Can  you  do  as  these  people  say  ? 

"Yes!" 

"  How  many  can  you  bring  at  one  time  ?  " 

"  It  all  depends  on  the  amount  of  calico  I  receive." 

That  I  thought  an  exceedingly  practical  answer,  and  I 
was  not  slow  to  close  with  his  offer. 

"  Very  well !  I  will  give  you  two  yards  of  red  twill  for 
the  first  croc  which  puts  its  head  up,  three  yards  for  the 

229 


A  CONJURER 


second,  four  yards  for  the  third,  up  to  the  tenth;  after  that 
we  must  stop  or  there  will  be  none  left."' 

"  I  agree  to  do  so ;  but  you  must  first  give  me  the  calico, 
so  that  I  can  go  away  and  make  medicine." 

"  No,  you  don't !    No  crocs,  no  pay  !    Understand  ?  " 

He  evidently  did,  for,  entering  a  house,  he  beckoned  me  to 
follow  him. 

I  took  the  precaution  of  taking  a  boy  with  me,  for  I  had 
not  forgotten  that  "  Snakes  lay  on  the  path  waiting  for  frogs.'" 

"  You  don't  need  the  boy,  master  ;  he  can  wait  outside." 

"  No,  thanks  !  he  carries  my  tobacco  and  pipe." 

On  arriving  inside  the  house  we  sat  down.  Fixing  my 
eyes  on  his,  I  said  : 

"  Look  here,  my  man,  my  skin  is  white,  so  is  my  father's ; 
we  are  not  quite  such  fools  in  our  country  as  to  believe  in 
all  this  rubbish.  But  in  order  to  give  you  a  fair  chance,  you 
are  to  call  only  once  for  each  croc  :  every  time  it  refuses  to 
put  its  head  out  of  the  water,  you  pay  me  a  sheep;  every 
time  it  answers  you,  I  pay  calico.    That's  fair,  is  it  not  ?  " 

Too  fair  for  him.  He  was  getting  a  lesson  in  profit  and 
loss;  up  to  now  it  had  been  all  gain. 

Bending  forward,  he  whispered  : 

"  I  cannot  make  them  come  out  of  the  water." 

"  Then  why  do  you  cheat  these  people  ?  " 

"  Because  they  pay ;  why  should  I  not  take  it  ?  " 

Why  not  ?  I  knew  a  similar  game  was  at  that  moment 
being  pla3^ed  north  of  the  equator,  by  people  whose  skin  was 
white  like  my  own ;  so  I  closed  the  interview  by  going  outside 
to  the  Arabs  and  the  crowd  who  had  collected  to  see  me  pay 
over  the  calico. 

"  I  have  stopped  the  man  from  bringing  out  the  crocs, 

because  I  am  your  guest,  and  it  is  polite  to  honour  your 

host.    Every  day  I  see  you  praying  and  hear  you  declare 

there  is  but  one  God.    Knowing  this,  I  could  not  allow  this 

person  to  insult  your  religion." 

230 


A  CONJURER 


"  In  what  way  did  he  wish  to  do  it  ?  "  they  asked. 
"  Let  me  explain.  As  the  Creator  made  the  croc  as  well 
as  the  water  in  which  it  swims,  no  one  but  He  could  make  it 
come  out,  unless  it  had  previously  been  tamed  and  recognised 
its  master''s  voice.  If  this  stranger  to  your  crocs  compelled 
them  to  obey  him,  he  must  be  a  God.  That  would  have 
made  two,  and  proved  the  Moslem  religion  to  be  wrong ! 
Don't  you  understand  ? 

Smiting  their  breasts  in  true  Oriental  fashion,  they  replied, 
"  Truly,  truly  !  we  have  sinned. 

"  Yes,  you  have  !  This  poor  impostor  has  never  heard  of 
any  religion ;  but  you  have,  so  that  you  are  worse  than  he  is." 
"  Let's  kill  him  !  Shall  we  ?  "  they  asked. 
"  No  !  certainly  not ;  it  would  be  unfair.  He  deceived  you, 
but  you  deceived  yourselves  by  consenting  to  make  him  as 
God.  Sacrifice  two  fat  sheep,  and  let  their  blood  mingle 
with  the  clear  water  of  the  lake,  and  be  thankful  we  have 
saved  you  from  the  consequences  of  so  great  a  mistake.  The 
meat  will  be  carefully  removed  from  your  midst  by  my  sailors, 
so  that  no  remnant  of  the  sacrifice  shall  be  lost." 

This  was  done,  and  from  the  expressions  of  pleasure  on 
the  faces  of  my  men  I  really  believe  a  daily  sacrifice  of  a 
similar  nature  would  have  been  appreciated  by  them.  It 
seemed  advisable  to  make  natives  and  Arabs  pay  for  having 
their  eyes  opened  to  all  kinds  of  fraud. 

On  the  morning  of  our  departure  I  continued  the  lesson 
by  saying:  "Don't  forget,  these  conjurers  are  too  clever  to 
work  in  the  fields.  They  are  lazy  and  prefer  to  deceive  you ; 
the  hand  is  quicker  than  the  eye." 

"  No  !  no  !  "  they  exclaimed.  "  Nothing  is  quicker  than 
the  eye." 

"  Is  it  not  ? "  I  retorted.  "  Til  prove  to  you  the  hand 
is,  now,  before  we  sail." 

Taking  out  a  needle  from  a  box  and  passing  it  through 
the  skin  of  my  first  finger,  I  grasped  it  with  the  thumb,  thus 

231 


FAUNA  OF  THE  RUSIZI 


partially  hiding  the  needle,  and  taking  hold  of  an  Arab's 
arm,  I  asked : 

"  Have  you  bones  inside  ? " 

"  Yes  !  "  he  answered. 

"Do  you  think  I  can  pass  this  needle  through  your  arm 
without  your  feeling  pain  ?  " 

"  Of  course  you  cannot ;  and  besides,  it  would  bleed  !  " 

Giving  the  needle  an  apparent  blow  by  raising  my  hand 
and  bringing  it  quickly  down  on  his,  and  instantly  passing 
it  underneath,  I  produced  the  needle,  after  making  exertions, 
from  the  other  side. 

"  Go  away,  master — go  away  !  You  could  send  it  through 
our  hearts." 

"  No,  I  could  not ;  it's  all  a  deception,  and  only  done  to 
prove  to  you  the  eye  is  slow,  the  hand  quick." 

When  I  showed  them  how  it  was  done  they  laughed 
heartily,  and  I  don't  think  our  visit  was  readily  forgotten. 

With  this  final  adieu  we  entered  the  Rusizi  River,  which 
was  flowing  into  the  lake  at  about  two  miles  an  hour.  On 
either  side  the  plain  stretched  away  to  the  base  of  the  hills, 
presenting  abundant  evidence  that  it  was  once  covered  by 
the  lake  for  many  miles  to  the  north.  Numerous  shallow 
pools  had  been  left  by  the  receding  water,  in  which  grew  just 
sufficient  reeds  to  afford  a  breeding  ground  for  aquatic  birds. 
I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  to  witness  such  a  collection  of 
wild-fowl  anywhere  in  the  world  as  could  be  seen  on  these 
muddy  flats.  They  flew  about  in  thousands,  and  appeared 
to  be  of  every  known  African  species. 

Heavy  spur-winged  geese  stood  in  great  numbers  in  the 
marshes,  digging  their  long  beaks  into  the  mud  for  food. 
The  handsome  Egyptian  goose  fought  for  tasty  morsels  with 
white  -  breasted,  black  -  backed  geese,  these  latter  being  in 
greater  numbers  than  any  other.  Teal  and  widgeon  were 
untiring  in  their  playful  evolutions  over  our  heads,  probably 
being  curious  to  find  out  what  our  white  painted  boat  was. 


PICTURESQUE  SCENERY 


This  was  quite  natural,  as  they  had  only  seen  canoes.  Pelicans, 
dreamily  floating,  looked  more  like  a  long  streak  of  cream 
on  the  water  than  heavy  birds.  Immense  flocks  of  marabou 
storks  sailed  in  wide  circles  high  overhead,  giving  a  beautiful 
display  of  their  powers  of  easy  aviation,  almost  to  be  envied. 
The  report  of  a  rifle  disturbed  tens  of  thousands  of  birds  of 
all  sizes,  which  rose  in  dense  masses,  blackening  the  sky  as 
they  crossed  each  other  at  different  altitudes  in  graceful 
flight. 

It  was  a  breeding  place,  to  which  the  birds  came  annually, 
and  one  could  scarcely  imagine  the  number  of  eggs  laid 
amongst  the  reeds  by  the  countless  feathered  host.  For  miles 
up  the  river  we  enjoyed  this  lively  spectacle ;  but  as  a  contrast 
there  were  ever  to  be  seen  below  the  cruel  crocodiles,  which 
splashed  into  the  stream  from  every  stretch  of  sandbank. 

The  upper  portion  of  the  river  widened  into  what  is  known 
as  Lake  Kiwa,  and  in  this  neighbourhood  peaceful  treaties 
were  made  with  all  the  most  influential  chiefs,  including 
Rusavia,  who  claimed  to  be  paramount  on  both  sides  of 
the  river.  The  actual  diplomatic  work  being  accomplished, 
I  left  the  boat  and  camped  up  on  the  side  of  the  mountains, 
as  sleeping  amongst  the  myriads  of  insect  life  in  the  reeds 
was  quite  out  of  the  question.  The  air  at  this  altitude  was 
bracing,  but  the  sudden  change  of  temperature  gave  several 
of  my  men  fever ;  this  is  a  very  common  result  to  hill  people 
who  descend  to  the  plains,  or  vice  versa. 

The  view  was  very  picturesque.  To  the  right  lay  the 
great  lake,  reflecting  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun ;  on  its  surface 
the  fishermen's  canoes  appeared  as  tiny  black  dots  near  the 
coast-line.  The  plain  spread  northwards  far  beyond  our  range 
of  vision,  suggesting  a  greater  Tanganyika,  and  one  could 
easily  imagine  it  was  once  covered  by  one  body  of  water, 
which,  at  a  higher  level,  may  have  joined  the  great  Nile 
system.  The  river  could  be  easily  traced  winding  through 
green  patches  of  papyrus,  whilst  at  intervals  small  groups  of 

233 


A  FAIR  REGION 


villages  nestled  under  isolated  clumps  of  trees,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  protection  they  afforded  from  the  burning  noontide 
heat,  which  radiated  from  the  surrounding  sand,  causing  pain 
to  the  eyes.  At  our  backs,  and  far  above  us,  rose  the  hills, 
covered  with  luxurious  vegetation  wherever  the  soil  had  not 
been  washed  away  by  torrential  rains. 

Monkeys  of  various  kinds  sprang  about  amongst  the  tall 
trees,  indulging  in  gymnastic  exercises  on  the  strong  creepers 
which  hung  suspended  from  the  high  branches. 

Green  parrots  kept  up  those  constant,  shrill,  unpleasant 
notes  by  which  they  are  easily  distinguished  from  all  other 
birds. 

In  the  midst  of  such  scenery,  and  suiTounded  by  these 
myriads  of  creatures  enjoying  life  in  varied  forms,  far  away 
from  the  teeming  cities  of  the  world,  is  it  any  wonder  that 
when  I  dropped  to  sleep  the  first  night  on  the  hillside  I  was 
almost  afraid  to  think  of  treaties  and  empire,  lest  I  should 
picture  this  fair  region  cut  up  by  roads,  blackened  by  the 
smoke  of  factories,  and  its  golden  sands,  instead  of  being 
habited  by  wild-fowl,  covered  with  vast  workshops  in  which 
men  and  women  might  have  to  labour  in  close  confinement, 
and  might  possibly  be  compelled  to  demand  that  they  should 
not  slave  more  than  eight  hours  a  day  ? 

The  sleep  was,  however,  not  to  be  of  long  duration.  It 
seems  well-nigh  impossible  to  live  out  there  at  a  moderate 
pace.  From  dreamland  one  is  plunged  into  tragedy.  A 
contemplation  of  nature  under  her  most  attractive  aspect  is 
rudely  swept  aside  by  a  sudden  introduction  of  turmoil,  pain, 
death.  Some  unseen  hand  appears  to  be  manipulating  moving 
pictures,  over  which  you,  as  a  spectator,  possess  no  controlling 
power.  You  are  not  consulted  as  to  whether  the  change  is 
desirable  or  not.  It  comes  !  goes !  for  the  moment  obliterating 
all  preceding  impressions,  and  it  is  only  when,  years  afterwards, 
one  sits  down,  as  I  am  now  doing,  to  develop  the  negatives 
which  have  been  stored  up  in  the  brain,  that  one  realises  the 

234 


ATTACKED  BY  LEOPARDS 


deep  impression  each  passing  phase  of  African  experience  has 
left  on  one'*s  life. 

I  closed  my  eyes  with  pleasant  thoughts  of  life.  In  the  air 
it  had  all  the  previous  day  been  manifested  by  those  countless 
wings  of  the  wild-fowl ;  in  the  forest  by  the  bouncing  monkeys 
and  swift-climbing  lizards;  in  the  evening  by  choruses  of 
insect  calls  which  hushed  me  to  sleep.  It  was  life  every- 
where. Above  !  around  !  below  !  On  opening  my  eyes  I  was 
in  the  presence  of  crying,  suffering  humanity,  struggling  to 
escape  death. 

A  few  of  my  people  had  accompanied  me  to  the  village, 
and  not  caring  to  cross  the  swamps  at  night  to  return  to  the 
river,  had  obtained  permission  to  sleep  in  the  village.  The 
night  air  was  warmed  by  the  heat  radiating  from  the  sur- 
rounding rocks,  which  had  absorbed  the  sun^s  rays  during 
the  daytime,  and  thus  the  men  were  tempted  to  sleep  in  the 
open  air,  not  troubling  to  seek  a  hut,  which  would  have  been 
readily  placed  at  their  disposal. 

I  was  lying  half  awake  about  midnight,  when  a  horrible 

shouting  and  crying  of"  Chui !  Chui  !  Bwana  !  "  ("  Leopards  ! 

thoroughly  aroused  me.    These  shrieks  were  mingled  with  the 

ferocious  snarls  of  two  leopards  as  they  attacked  the  men  lying 

around  their  fires.    Snatching  up  a  revolver,  I  rushed  out,  and 

saw  on  the  ground,  locked  in  a  close  struggle,  men  and  leopards. 

The  brutes  were  rolled  over  by  the  powerful  men,  sometimes 

one,  then  the  other,  being  uppermost.    Blood  was  flowing 

freely  from  the  men''s  legs,  arms,  and  backs,  where  the  sharp 

claws  had  dug  deep  into  the  flesh,  but  up  to  that  moment 

they  had  succeeded  in  keeping  the  animals  away  from  their 

throats,  which  the  leopard  invariably  seizes  if  he  can.  Both 

animals  were  smeared  with  the  blood  of  their  victims,  who 

were  rapidly  tiring,  and  having  been  caught  when  half  asleep, 

were  at  a  disadvantage,  with  no  weapon  of  defence.    It  was 

impossible  to  fire  at  so  confused  a  mass  of  struggling  men 

and  beasts  without  danger  of  hitting  the  men,  so  I  discharged 

235 


ATTACKED  BY  LEOPARDS 


several  shots  in  the  air  to  scare  away  the  creatures.  It  had  a 
partial  success,  as  they  both  turned  to  look  in  the  direction  of 
the  noise.  This  gave  the  men  breathing  time  ;  but  the  loss  of 
blood  had  left  them  but  little  strength  to  continue  the  unequal 
battle,  and  certainly  no  chance  of  victory. 

The  report  of  firearms  aroused  the  active  hill-dwellers,  who 
rushed  out  of  their  huts,  and  as  soon  as  they  saw  what  was 
taking  place,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  charged  down  on 
the  leopards,  plunging  their  broad-bladed  spears  into  both 
animals,  almost  cutting  them  to  pieces.  If  the  leopards  had 
seized  the  men's  throats  nothing  could  have  saved  their  lives, 
for  with  a  few  rapid  strokes  of  their  claws  across  the  neck  they 
will  sever  the  large  arteries  and  drink  the  blood. 

In  this  case  it  made  little  difference  to  two  poor  fellows, 
who  died  the  next  day  from  exhaustion .  One  other  had  to  be 
left  in  the  charge  of  the  chief,  and  ultimately  recovered  from 
his  wounds.  Such  attacks  from  leopards  are  not  common,  as 
they  prefer  to  catch  fowls  and  dogs  and  roam  nightly  through 
most  villages,  occasionally  killing  a  goat  which  may  have  been 
tied  up  unprotected. 

In  the  rice-growing  district,  women  are  sometimes  killed 
who  go  out  alone  very  early  in  the  morning  to  scare  away 
birds  from  the  corn,  or  old  women  who  wander  carelessly  into 
the  forest  to  gather  firewood ;  but,  generally  speaking,  the 
leopard  is  considered  more  as  a  nuisance  than  a  dangerous 
enemy.  I  was  afraid  the  natives  might  raise  all  sorts  of  un- 
pleasant questions  about  witchcraft,  in  which  light  the  attack 
was  nearly  certain  to  be  considered,  the  leopard  being  the 
favourite  animal  chosen  as  a  temporary  residence  by  their 
ancestors  and  enemies,  and  certain  live  persons  being  believed 
able  to  transform  themselves  at  will  into  his  shape  for  the 
purposes  of  revenge. 

No  such  unpleasant  consequences  followed,  but  we  were 
politely  given  to  understand  that  they  would  prefer  our  room 
to  our  company,  so,  as  the  south-east  wind  had  subsided,  I 

236 


SWAMPED 


packed  up  and  set  sail  for  Ujiji,  with  the  valuable  treaties 
safely  sealed  up  in  an  iron  case. 

We  were  not  to  escape  quite  so  easily  with  miles  of  terri- 
tory; for,  on  rounding  a  cape,  strong  squalls  of  wind  and  rain 
struck  us,  necessitating  speedy  reduction  of  sail.  The  cold 
wind  came  rushing  down  those  deep  ravines  which  separate 
the  hills,  and  as  it  caught  the  cape,  formed  into  a  miniature 
cyclone,  catching  the  raindrops  as  they  descended,  and  in  a 
few  seconds  forming  them  into  a  waving  column  of  water.  A 
corresponding  column  was  sucked  up  from  the  lake  and  met 
in  mid-air,  completing  a  grand  but  dangerous  waterspout, 
which  came  racing  after  us  accompanied  by  a  tornado  of 
wind. 

There  was  only  one  chance,  and  that  was  to  cut  across  its 
track  and  beach  the  boat;  so,  hoisting  a  reefed  jib  and  double- 
reefed  mizzen,  we  eased  oW  the  sheets  and  almost  flew  through 
the  water  towards  a  clear  strip  of  sand  between  two  headlands. 
It  was  the  wildest,  and  at  the  same  time  grandest,  spectacle 
one  could  witness.  The  tiny  white  boat,  made  whiter  by 
contrast  with  the  inky  sky,  flying  like  a  seagull  before  the 
wind.  As  the  storm-centre  swept  towards  us  I  blazed  away 
all  the  cartridges  in  the  magazine  of  the  Lee-Metford  rifle, 
hoping  the  vibration  would  disperse  the  concentrated  force 
which  threatened  our  destruction  ;  but  the  reports  were  scarcely 
audible,  as  a  blinding  sheet  of  flame,  followed  by  a  crash  of 
thunder,  sent  the  dark  column  of  water  dashing  to  the  lake's 
surface  in  one  wide  sheet  of  foam. 

At  that  instant  an  eddy  caught  us,  tearing  both  sails  to 
ribbons,  and  blowing  the  boat  over  as  if  it  had  been  a  bubble. 
She  sank  only  a  few  yards  from  the  shore,  carrying  with  her 
the  precious  title-deeds  which  had  been  procured  by  so  much 
labour  and  thought. 

Wet,  cold,  hungry,  and  "  down  in  the  dumps,"'  we  crawled 
that  night  under  some  grass  for  shelter  to  try  to  sleep  and 
dream  of  the  bird-life,  the  frolicsome  monkeys,  the  music  of 

237  N 


SWAMPED 


the  insect  choir,  which  seemed  to  belong  to  some  other  far-ofF 
world  we  had  read  about  in  books ;  whilst  the  great  silver 
sangala  swam  around  our  precious  vessel,  as  it  lay  in  silence 
at  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  wondering  what  strange  white 
creature  had  descended  from  the  regions  above  to  disturb 
their  peaceful  lives. 


238 


CHAPTER  XIV 


Salving  the  Boat — A  Great  Disappointment — Trouble  with 
THE  Arabs — A  Mischievous  Monkey — An  Act  of  Revenge 

THE  morning  following  our  disaster  revealed  the  lake  like 
a  sea  of  glass  ;  not  a  ripple  disturbed  its  surface.  The 
two  masts  of  our  boat  stood  out  of  the  water,  with  a 
small  red  flag  hanging,  as  if  in  mourning  over  the  silent  wreck. 
Speckled  kingfishers  stood  on  the  masts,  darting  down  every 
few  minutes  into  the  water  for  their  breakfast.  That  a  wild 
battle  of  the  elements  had  taken  place  on  this  spot  but  a  few 
hours  previously  seemed  well-nigh  impossible.  Fever,  as  I 
expected,  followed  my  somewhat  sudden  bath  and  a  night's 
sleep  in  wet  underclothes. 

The  men  rallied  splendidly.  A  fire  was  soon  kindled  by 
the  usual  native  method  of  rapidly  rotating  one  piece  of  wood 
on  another,  and  natives  came  down  the  valley  bringing  food, 
accompanied  by  one  of  the  crew  who  had  been  sent  the  previous 
evening  to  search  for  villages.  Our  breakfast,  of  steaming 
maize  porridge  and  tomatoes,  washed  down  with  non-alcoholic 
white  beer,  made  from  millet,  was  about  the  sweetest  meal  I 
ever  ate. 

The  crew  dived  and  dragged  on  shore  everything  out  of 
the  boat,  including  my  precious  tin  box  containing  the  treaties, 
which  were  rolled  up  in  long  tin  cases  similar  to  those  pur- 
chased at  Aden  for  the  transport  of  ostrich  feathers.  This 
precaution  had  saved  them  from  destruction,  and  a  day  devoted 
to  drying  them  on  the  sand  made  the  situation  much  less 
discouraging. 

It  was  in  such  awkward  corners  that  my  men  seemed 
at  their  best.    Face  to  face  with  the  hurricane  and  water- 

239 


SALVING  THE  BOAT 


spout  of  yesterday  they  were  like  helpless,  terror-stricken 
children,  and  no  wonder — for  I  was  not  particularly  calm  my- 
self—but with  this  return  to  more  normal  conditions  they 
were  invaluable.  A  hearty  meal  and  several  pinches  of  strong 
snufF  transformed  them  from  miserable,  desponding  men  to 
boisterous  children. 

Stripping  off  what  little  clothing  they  wore,  they  dashed 
into  the  lake,  shouting :  "  We'll  soon  have  the  boat  up,  master. 
You  keep  out  of  the  water,  and  drink  hot  beer.  It  will 
kill  the  fever.'"*  This  cheerful  optimism  was  worth  more  than 
all  the  quinine  in  the  world  to  me  at  that  moment,  as  I  sat 
shivering  on  the  sand  with  ague,  wrapped  up  in  a  dirty  blue 
cloth  which  one  of  them  had  lent  me,  whilst  mine  was  drying 
in  the  sun. 

Crowds  of  natives  joined  in  the  salvage  operations,  the 
boys  especially  thoroughly  enjoying  the  fun  of  diving  for  small 
articles.  It  was  really  a  pleasant  diversion  to  watch  a  youngster 
rise  with  a  saucepan,  another  with  a  kettle  and — ^joy  of  joys — 
my  little  briar  pipe,  which  had  been  knocked  out  of  my  mouth 
as  I  fell  overboard. 

The  anchor  and  its  chain  were  soon  stretched  out  towards 
the  shore,  and  a  pole  inserted  under  the  keel  after  the  sand 
had  been  scraped  away.  To  the  chain  were  attached  strong 
creepers,  as  thick  as  a  man's  wrist.  These  were  passed  to  the 
crowd  of  eager  helpers,  standing  in  shallow  water,  who  ranged 
up  in  line — a  yelling,  jolly  crowd  of  darkies.  A  pull,  enough 
to  snap  a  manilla  cable,  followed  and  the  vegetable  rope  parted. 
It  was  laughable  to  see  the  whole  lot  fall  down  splashing  into 
the  lake,  a  confused  heap  of  astonished,  but  humorous 
creatures,  determined  to  rescue  the  vessel  for  the  white 
stranger. 

After  repeated  failures  they  were  taught  to  apply  their 
strength  with  more  reserve,  and,  to  my  intense  joy,  I  saw  the 
boat  move  inch  by  inch  towards  the  shore.  Before  noon  the 
gunwales  were  above  the  surface,  and  it  was  only  the  work  of 

240 


SALVING  THE  BOAT 


a  few  minutes  to  bale  out  the  water  and  to  see  her  once  more 
floating,  but  little  the  worse  for  the  immersion.  I  think  the 
villagers  were  almost  as  pleased  as  ourselves;  not  one  asked 
for  presents ;  they  seemed  to  take  the  whole  thing  as  a  matter 
of  course.  To  them  it  was  a  sunken  canoe,  which  needed 
pulling  on  shore.  They,  being  fishermen,  know  the  great  diffi- 
culty of  cutting  down  a  great  tree  high  upon  the  mountains, 
and  the  months  of  hard  work  that  must  be  spent  in  chipping 
out  its  centre  with  small  axes ;  therefore  they  took  a  keen 
interest  in  saving  our  ship. 

The  day  previously  the  Consul's  envoy,  whom  I  had  sent 
along  the  coast,  had  passed  and  left  a  present  with  the  chief,  so 
we  were  known  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood.  But  even  taking 
this  into  account,  I  could  not  help  feeling  that  their  valuable 
assistance  was  really  very  much  more  than  could  reasonably  be 
expected  of  complete  strangers,  and  that  they  might  quite 
naturally  have  demanded  heavy  payment  before  lifting  a  finger 
to  help  us.  It  was  impossible  to  give  each  a  present ;  so  I  had 
four  thirty-yard  pieces  of  American  calico  stretched  along  the 
sand,  and  the  people  ranged  alongside  it.  To  each  a  few 
inches  was  allotted,  and  all  appeared  quite  satisfied,  if  not 
surprised,  at  getting  anything  at  all.  In  order  to  thoroughly 
arouse  a  spirit  of  fun,  I  placed  a  bag  of  wet  salt  on  a  rock 
about  fifty  yards  out  in  the  lake,  and  making  the  young  men 
toe  a  mark,  I  pointed  to  the  salt,  saying :  "  There  you  are ; 
go  for  it!  Whoever  gets  to  the  rock  first  shall  have  the 
salt.'' 

So  we  embarked  and  left  them  struggling,  diving,  shouting, 
and  tearing  at  the  bag  of  salt,  a  scramble  I  guessed  it  best  to 
be  out  of,  lest  another  appointment  as  referee  should  be  thrust 
upon  me.  We  left  them  wishing  for  another  shipwreck,  or  for 
another  scramble,  at  any  rate,  and  hoping  we  should  return. 
Perhaps  that  is  the  best  parting  one  can  have  from  strange 
tribes. 

We  picked  up  the  envoy  next  day,  and,  after  an  uneventful 

241 


A  GREAT  DISAPPOINTMENT 


journey,  we  arrived  at  the  South  End.  The  despatches  were 
sent  off  immediately ;  but  when  they  arrived  in  London,  Europe 
had  ah-eady  partitioned  Africa  into  Spheres  of  Influence,"  and 
by  the  international  arrangement  the  much-coveted  link  in  the 
chain,  which  would  have  given  us  a  clear  Cape  to  Cairo  route, 
and  which  had  been  honestly  signed  over  to  me  on  behalf  of 
Great  Britain,  fell  to  the  lot  of  Germany  and  the  Congo  State. 
My  keen  disappointment  may  well  be  imagined  by  every  true 
Imperialist,  and  although  the  thanks  of  Lord  Salisbury  and 
Consul  Johnston  were  highly  appreciated  by  me,  they  can 
never  compensate  me  for  the  abandonment  of  that  small  red 
line,  which  was  actually  completed  in  a  legitimate  manner 
during  the  exciting  time  I  have  described,  and  which  I  should 
have  been  so  proud  to  have  seen  drawn  on  the  map  of  Africa. 

From  important  international  politics  we  must  return  to 
local  events,  which  were  taking  place  around  the  lake.  The 
Arabs,  having  received  no  direct  communication  from  the 
Congo  State  officers  who  were  attempting  to  close  the  road  to 
Manyema,  and  who  had,  as  they  considered,  no  right  to  the 
country,  collected  their  forces  to  oppose  them.  After  numerous 
minor  skirmishes,  a  pitched  battle  was  fought,  resulting  in  the 
defeat  of  the  State  troops.  One  officer  was  killed  and  partially 
eaten  by  the  cannibals,  and  the  commanding  officer  had  to 
retire  to  his  headquarters  through  lack  of  support. 

Having  business  at  Ujiji,  I  called  on  Rumaliza,  who  at 
once  informed  me  that  hostilities  had  commenced  on  the  west 
coast  of  the  Lake,  explaining  the  situation  thus  : — 

"  You,  and  the  other  Europeans,  arrived  here  with  proper 

introductions  from  the  coast,  which  we  always  respected,  and 

never  caused  you  trouble  of  any  kind.    These  Belgian  officers 

came,  and  the  first  thing  we  hear  about  them  is  that  they  are 

attacking  our  outposts  and  claiming  the  whole  country.  Not 

one  has  visited  us,  or  sent  his  flag,  or  had  the  courtesy  to 

approach  us  in  any  way.    We  do  not  know  who  sent  them, 

and  cannot  believe  they  came  from  a  Government ;  they  must 

242 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


be  independent  men,  as  Governments  always  instruct  their 
servants  to  enter  first  into  negotiations  with  the  rulers  of 
the  country,  even  if  they  intend  to  fight.  We  received  in- 
formation that  they  were  occupying  the  road  between  here 
and  our  other  trading  centres,  and  had  stopped  all  traffic  in 
ivory.  Our  head-men  sent  asking  for  instructions,  and  we  told 
them  to  defend  our  trade,  but  not  to  attack  the  white  men 
unless  fired  on  by  their  troops. 

"None  of  the  Arabs  have  left  here,  for  we  did  not  think 
it  was  a  serious  matter,  as  there  were  but  two  officers  and  a  few 
soldiers.  But  news  reached  us  yesterday  that  a  fight  had  taken 
place,  in  which  our  people  were  victorious ;  and  we  regret 
to  hear  that  one  European  was  killed,  and  that  some  of  the 
Manyema,  who,  as  you  know,  are  cannibals,  cooked  and  ate  a 
portion  of  his  body.  We  cannot  have  people  running  about 
this  country  with  armed  men  attacking  our  soldiers,  and  as 
they  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  acknowledge  our  presence, 
we  on  our  part  declined  to  put  ourselves  to  the  trouble  of 
crossing  the  lake  to  superintend  the  operations  of  our  half-wild 
followers.  The  Belgians  have  themselves  to  thank  for  all  this 
trouble.    Do  you  know  these  men  ? 

I  replied  :  "  I  am  not  acquainted  with  them ;  but  they  are 
certainly  Belgian  officers,  sent  out  by  the  Congo  State,  and 
are  not  adventurers,  as  you  wish  to  suppose." 

"  Then  why  did  they  not  come  and  bring  their  credentials, 
and  show  their  flag  ?    Are  we  to  be  treated  as  pagans  ? 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  their  reasons  ;  it  is  not  my  business  to 
know,  but  I  can  guess  why  they  did  not  do  so  ! "  i 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Firstly,  because  you  are  in  German  territory  in  this 
town.  Secondly,  they  do  not  consider  you  the  rulers  of  the 
west  coast.  As  an  officer  has  been  killed,  you  may  expect 
trouble;  it  is  a  great  pity  you  did  not  send,  or  go  to  see 
them,  before  fighting." 

^  I  believe  it  is  the  fact  that  Capt.  Jacques  did  previously  visit  them. 

243 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


"  Will  you  go  for  us  and  tell  the  remaining  officer  how 
sorry  we  are  he  has  lost  a  comrade,  and  that,  if  he  will  come 
here  with  you  and  bring  his  flag,  we  will  listen  with  respect 
to  his  instructions,  although  we  cannot  promise  to  accept  his 
demands." 

I  thought  this  quite  fair,  and  consented  ;  but  I  added  : 
"  If  I  go,  you  must  send  with  me  a  responsible  man,  with  power 
to  stop  the  fighting,  whilst  you  talk  ;  and  if  he  decides  to  come 
here,  you  must  swear  you  will  protect  him  and  permit  him  to 
leave  in  safety.  That  is  the  custom  in  Europe,  and  I  will  not 
go  to  him  unless  you  swear." 

"  We  swear  by  the  tomb  of  Mohammed  that  we  will 
protect  his  life,  and  that  he  shall  return  alive  with  you  to  his 
fort  after  our  interview  ! " 

"  No  matter  what  he  may  say  to  you  ?    I  asked. 

"  Yes  !  words  cannot  make  us  break  our  oath." 

I  at  once  crossed  the  lake,  and  Captain  Jacques  paid  me 
a  visit  on  the  steamer.  I  told  him  the  Arab's  message,  and 
asked  him  to  go  back  with  me  to  Ujiji.  This  invitation  he 
politely  declined,  saying  he  could  not  trust  them,  and,  more- 
over, did  not  desire  to  hold  any  communication  with  them,  as 
they  were  not  within  the  territory  of  the  State.  He  appre- 
ciated the  sixteen  days"*  armistice  I  had  arranged,  as  it  gave 
him  time  to  visit  his  headquarters.  His  main  contention  was 
that  the  Ujiji  Arabs,  being  mere  interlopers,  had  no  right  to 
expect  he  would  consult  with  them  upon  any  matter  concern- 
ing the  country.  That,  as  an  officer,  his  duty  was  to  uphold 
the  honour  of  the  State,  ignoring  the  right  of  any  one  to 
dispute  their  claim  to  the  west  coast. 

All  this  was  quite  true  from  his  point  of  view  ;  so  also  was 
the  opposite  position  as  understood  by  the  Arabs. 

Both  claimed  the  country,  basing  their  respective  claims 
upon  the  principle  that  "  might  is  right."  It  was  no  part  of 
my  duty  to  take  sides,  however  much  I  sympathised  with  the 
agents  of  civilisation.    Beyond  attempting  to  persuade  the 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


Arabs  not  to  draw  the  sword  against  the  Europeans,  and 
seeking  to  afford  the  State  official  an  opportunity  to  deliver 
his  ultimatum,  I  took  no  part  in  the  controversy. 

It  was  a  plucky  thing  for  two  isolated  officers  to  step  into 
that  disturbed  arena,  and,  with  altogether  inadequate  support, 
to  beard  the  lions  in  their  stronghold.  Criticism,  just  and 
unjust,  has  been  levelled  at  both  Belgians  and  Arabs.  The 
trail  of  blood  left  by  the  Arabs  I  had  witnessed,  and 
denounced  both  on  public  platforms  in  England  and  before 
their  faces  in  Africa. 

The  policy  and  administration  of  the  Congo  State  officials 
have,  with  equal  severity,  been  criticised  by  my  countrymen. 
With  this  criticism  I  am  not  associated,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  having  never  travelled  through  their  territory. 
One  thing  is  quite  certain  to  all  African  pioneers — that  the 
State  embraces  some  of  the  most  savage  and  intractable 
cannibal  tribes,  living  in  districts  not  easily  accessible,  many 
of  which  are  far  removed  from  bases  of  operation.  The  work 
of  reducing  such  people  to  order  would  tax  the  abilities  of  the 
most  experienced  agents  of  civilisation. 

I  hold  no  brief  either  for  Congo  State  officials  or  Arabs, 
but  desire  to  speak  of  both  as  I  found  them,  and  repeat,  that 
those  officials  whom  I  met  on  Tanganyika,  at  close  grip  with 
this  great  problem,  were  men  of  whom  any  country  might  be 
proud,  whose  friendship  I  enjoyed,  and  whose  brave  deeds 
filled  me  with  admiration.  On  the  other  hand,  I  found  the 
wealthy  Arabs  courteous,  sensible  adventurers,  so  far  as  the 
common  rules  of  life  are  concerned,  ever  ready  to  assist  white 
men,  and  sometimes  at  great  personal  inconvenience  to  them- 
selves; but  their  cruel  trade  in  slaves  made  them  appear 
little  else  than  fiends  in  the  eyes  of  the  native  tribes,  and 
deserved  the  swift  destruction  finally  meted  out  to  them  by 
Europe. 

Smarting  under  defeat  by  overwhelming  forces.  Captain 

Jacques,  like  a  brave  soldier,  had  only  one  ambition,  namely, 

245 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


to  cross  swords  again  with  his  enemies,  and  turn  defeat  into 
victory.  With  cheerful  courage  he  unfolded  his  plans  to  me  as 
we  steamed  southwards.  It  was  an  inspiration  to  see  his  flash- 
ing eyes,  as  he  descrihed  the  late  fight,  and  drew  a  picture  of  the 
coming  annihilation  of  Arab  rule  on  the  Congo.  Beyond 
the  battlefield  where  his  comrade  fell  he  appeared  to  see 
the  crumpled-up  forces  of  Islam,  fleeing  in  every  direction, 
and  the  cannibal  men-hunters  of  Manyema  engaged  in  peaceful 
pursuit  under  another  ensign. 

There  was  no  looking  backward,  and  as  he  impatiently 
paced  the  deck,  I  felt  I  was  watching  a  true  soldier,  eager 
for  the  moment  when  he  should  be  able  to  draw  his  sword 
against  the  enemies  of  his  country.  As  things  happened, 
he  had  not  long  to  wait.  A  few  hours'*  steaming  brought 
us  to  his  station,  and  we  parted  with  the  exchange  of  mutual 
good  wishes  for  the  emancipation  of  the  black  race. 

Meantime  the  Arabs  were  in  possession.  Long  lines  of 
slaves  continued  to  bring  ivory  to  Ujiji  from  the  west,  but 
there  it  had  to  remain,  not  a  tusk  could  be  sent  to  the  east 
coast.  The  Lakes  Company,  now  the  African  Lakes  Cor- 
poration, were  not  yet  in  a  position  to  divert  the  stream 
via  Nyasa,  and  the  great  merchant  princes  became  desperate 
at  their  enforced  isolation  from  the  markets.  A  spirit  of 
defiance  of  the  white  invasion  spread  southwards,  and  a 
general  rising  against  us  seemed  imminent.  At  every  port 
of  call  I  found  less  courtesy,  and  distinct  coolness,  in  the 
welcome  ofi'ered  us. 

Petty  annoyances  became  frequent ;  for  instance,  the  price 
of  food  was  doubled.  Huts  for  the  sailors  to  sleep  in 
were  either  refused  or  lent  with  great  reluctance.  Fowls  and 
eggs  could  not  be  purchased.  No  one  would  accompany  us 
in  search  of  game.  All  these  were  manifestations  of  the 
under-current  of  feeling  that  was  setting  against  us,  and, 
although  no  open  acts  of  violence  were  attempted,  it  required 
some  patience  to  put  up  with  these  pin-pricks.    Probably  we 

246 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


should  have  felt  the  same  in  their  position,  or  even  carried 
our  resentment  beyond  the  stage  of  passive  obstruction.  I 
have  no  doubt  the  general  populace  were  kept  in  check  by 
the  educated  Arabs,  who  endeavoured  to  delay  taking  up 
the  gauntlet  thrown  down  among  them. 

A  sharp  attack  of  ague  compelled  me  to  stay  for  two 
weeks  in  harbour  amongst  the  Wafipa,  who  were  little  more 
than  puppets  in  the  hands  of  small,  half-caste  coast  men, 
who  were  strangers  to  us.  They  made  our  stay  uncomfort- 
able, and  when  reproved  for  not  having  such  good  manners 
as  the  other  Arabs,  retorted  by  declaring  that  they  owed 
no  allegiance  to  any  one ;  and  certainly  they  took  no  trouble 
to  hide  their  displeasure  at  my  presence.  Fever  made  me 
long  for  milk  to  make  a  cup  of  tea  palatable,  but  not  a 
drop  would  they  sell,  although  they  had  both  cows'*  and 
goats'  milk  in  abundance. 

Lying  beneath  the  shade  of  the  trees,  with  a  splitting 
headache,  I  overheard  the  following  conversation  between 
my  personal  servant  and  the  head-man  of  the  village : 
"  Why  should  we  sell  or  give  our  milk  to  the  white  man  ? 
Is  he  not  stealing  our  country  and  making  us  poor?  Go 
and  tell  your  master  to  carry  his  own  cattle  about  the 
lake  if  he  likes  milk.  Have  you  not  heard  of  the  lizard 
which  cried  for  the  eagle?  Did  he  get  it?  We  do  not 
want  his  calico  or  beads ;  we  want  him  to  clear  out !  " 

I  was  scarcely  able  to  lift  my  head,  much  less  to  engage 
in  such  an  athletic  exercise.  My  faithful  boy,  knowing  how 
ill  I  was,  pleaded  :  It  is  not  customary  in  our  country,  or 
yours,  to  let  a  stranger's  tongue  remain  dry  in  the  village 
when  he  is  so  sick  as  to  be  unable  to  walk  to  the  water. 
Master's  cows  are  far  away." 

"  No  !  it  is  not,"  they  answered.  "  Neither  is  it  customary 
for  people  to  steal  away  other  men's  country !  Who  called 
these  white  men  ?  Have  they  greedy  parents,  or  are 
they  so  poor  that  they  have  no  gardens  to  give  to  their 

247 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ARABS 


children,  and  no  fish  in  their  rivers,  and  so  come  here  for 
ours?  Our  women  carry  only  their  own  children  in  the 
skin-support  at  their  backs;  there  is  no  room  for  strangers 
who  come,  as  you  say,  out  of  the  salt  water ! " 

The  little  fellow  replied :  "  I  cannot  tell  you  who  called 
the  white  men ;  perhaps  the  same  people  who  called  your 
masters,  the  Arabs."*"*  (This  was  clever  sarcasm,  considering 
that  these  scoundrels  had  not  only  taken  the  land,  but 
practically  annihilated  the  owners.)  "  Master's  tongue  is 
too  dry  to  speak  to-day,  or  he  would  tell  you.  I  have  heard 
him  talk  to  unkind  and  stupid  people  when  he  was  well; 
some  of  them  listened  to  his  words,  some  were  ashamed 
and  left  him  alone.  Would  you  like  him  to  sleep  here  and 
not  wake  up  again  ?  We  do  not  know  what  their  spirits 
do.  Ours  sometimes  go  into  small  leopards;  but  Tve  heard 
old  men  say  that  the  spirits  of  white  men  only  go  into 
lions,  and  lions  give  trouble !  Is  it  not  safer  to  give  master 
milk  than  to  give  his  spirit  the  blood  of  your  children  to 
drink.?  Because  if  he  dies  thirsty,  the  spirit  may  take  long 
drinks  before  its  tongue  is  satisfied.*" 

The  lad  was  using  some  of  those  weapons  he  had  so 
often  heard  me  call  to  our  aid,  only  they  were  more  beauti- 
fully manipulated  by  him  in  his  native  tongue,  and  cannot 
be  so  translated  as  to  reveal  the  finest  points.  I  mentally 
thanked  him  for  his  thoughtful  assistance. 

The  arguments  produced  a  softening  effect  on  the  man, 
who  of  course  did  not  care  a  straw  about  my  thirst,  but  was 
afraid  of  that  sneaking,  thirsty  lion-spirit  which  the  boy 
had  pictured ;  so  he  considered  it  best  to  propitiate  mine 
by  sending  a  gourd  full  of  delicious  milk  as  soon  as  the 
cows  came  home  in  the  evening. 

My  servant  had  no  idea  I  had  overheard  his  kind  en- 
treaties, and  simply  placed  the  milk  near  me,  asking :  "  Will 
you  drink  it  cold,  or  shall  I  put  it  on  the  fire.?"" 

"  You  had  better  boil  it.    These  people  are  not  very 

248 


HOW  SICKNESS  IS  REGARDED 


friendly,  and  besides,  there  are  lots  of  little  live  creatures  which 
swim  about  in  milk ;  they  might  swim  about  in  my  stomach 
and  stop  me  from  getting  well.   So  boil  it  and  kill  them  !  " 

How  zealously  he  carried  out  my  instructions  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  I  fell  asleep,  tired  of  waiting, 
and  the  next  morning  the  milk  had  not  yet  been  brought. 
Where  is  the  milk,  my  son  ?  " 

"  You  went  to  sleep,  master,  and  I  knew  the  fever  was 
going  away.  When  I  went  back  to  the  fire,  the  pot  was 
nearly  red  hot.  I  suppose  the  little  things  you  said  were 
inside  drank  up  all  the  milk,  for  the  pot  was  empty ! " 

I  was  too  weak  to  burst  into  laughter,  so  I  smiled, 
saying  : 

"  Never  mind  !  Perhaps  they  were  more  thirsty  than  I  was. 
Go  and  make  some  tea,  and  watch  that  no  more  little  creatures 
rob  me  of  a  drink." 

As  a  rule  these  servants  are  inclined  to  keep  away  from 
Europeans  when  they  are  ill,  not  altogether  from  a  lack 
of  sympathy,  but  from  a  dread  of  being  implicated  in  trouble, 
which  generally  follows  death  amongst  themselves.  All  kinds 
of  inquiries  are  made  as  to  who  attended  the  invalid.  Who  fed 
him  ?  From  what  garden  did  the  maize  come  which  was  used 
to  make  his  porridge  ?  Who  kindled  the  fire  in  the  hut  ? 
Who  had  quarrelled  with  him  ?  and  so  on. 

Their  first  thought  is :  My  relative  has  died  through  foul 
play  of  some  kind ;  and  they  at  once  seek  to  fix  the  blame  on 
somebody,  it  does  not  much  signify  on  whom.  They  believe 
that  death  cannot  come  by  natural  causes,  and  this  idea  being 
impressed  on  them  from  children,  it  is  no  easy  task  for  them  to 
shake  it  off  in  later  years.  So,  directly  a  European  becomes 
ill,  his  servants,  in  most  cases,  avoid  his  bedside  as  much  as 
possible ;  this  often  gives  a  stranger  the  impression  that  black 
men  are  callous,  and  do  not  care  a  pin  whether  their  masters 
are  hungry  or  thirsty.  I  have  had  servants  who,  as  in  this 
instance,  were  most  thoughtful,  but  who  invariably  avoided 

249 


A  MISCHIEVOUS  MONKEY 


staying  near  me  when  really  serious  illness  threatened  life. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  this  boy  simply  went 
away  to  his  chums  and  forgot  my  milk.  A  few  days'*  rest 
completed  the  cure,  and  we  continued  our  voyage. 

I  had  purchased  a  black  monkey,  and  this  imp  of  mischief 
gave  us  no  end  of  trouble  on  board.  It  was  amusing  to  watch 
him  creep  up  alongside  the  stokers,  as  they  came  on  deck  for  a 
breath  of  fresh  air,  and  throw  overboard  their  towels  directly 
they  laid  them  down  on  the  deck.  Had  he  confined  himself  to 
these  little  pranks  it  would  not  have  mattered  ;  but  he  threw 
ropes  overboard,  and  these,  trailing  behind,  were  immediately 
caught  by  the  propeller  and  jammed  so  tightly  around  the 
boss  that  the  engines  were  stopped,  I  jumped  down  into  the 
engine-room  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  and  of  course  could  see 
nothing  wrong.  Steam  had  to  be  reduced,  and  fires  drawn, 
whilst  we  searched  for  the  trouble.  Everything  was  in  perfect 
order,  so  I  went  on  deck  and  looked  over  the  stern,  when  the 
cause  of  the  trouble  was  seen  trailing  about  the  propeller  in 
long  stretches  of  rope.  It  took  our  men  hours  to  cut  out 
the  hard  rope,  as  it  was  under  water. 

A  heavy  south-east  wind  compelled  us  to  shelter  under  the 
Mbeti  Cape,  close  to  a  large  village.  During  the  evening 
an  impromptu  dance  was  arranged  for  our  pleasure,  in  which 
most  of  the  married  women  and  girls  took  part.  They  formed 
themselves  into  a  circle,  and  three  men  beat  drums  to  keep 
time  for  the  several  dances.  Each  girl  in  turn  stepped  into  the 
circle,  danced  a  few  graceful  steps,  and  retired  into  her  place. 
One  girl  in  particular  excelled  all  the  others,  both  in  her 
dancing  and  looks  ;  she  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  her  skin 
was  of  a  deep  brown  colour,  and  she  looked  a  picture  of  health. 
She  was  the  life  of  the  party,  and  from  her  all  the  other 
dancers  took  their  cue.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  entertainment 
I  gave  the  dancers  small  presents  of  blue  beads,  and  to  this 
young  mistress  of  the  ceremonies  a  large  necklace  of  white 
beads,  as  a  mark  of  my  appreciation  of  her  abilities. 

250 


Elaborately  Carved  Drums 

These  enter  into  most  phases  of  native  life,  births,  deaths,  marriages,  partings,  and  meetings. 
Joy  and  sorrow  are  interpreted  by  these  never-ceasing  drums.  They  are  tuned  by  warming  at  a 
fire  and  sticking  rubber  on  the  centres.  No  man  will  play  and  no  woman  dance  if  the  drum  is 
j?ut  of  tune.  To  deprive  a  village  of  its  drums  is  to  shut  out  the  sun  from  an  African  community. 


AN  ACT  OF  REVENGE 


I  inquired  if  she  was  the  chiefs  daughter,  and  found 
she  was  not.  She  had  been  betrothed  to  a  man  who  had 
subsequently  taken  a  disease  similar  to  leprosy  just  before 
the  marriage  ceremony,  and  she  had  therefore  been  promised 
to  another.  The  long  white  necklace  looked  pretty  as  it 
hung  close  to  her  perfect  figure,  and  she  was  evidently 
highly  pleased  by  the  gift ;  for,  about  an  hour  afterwards,  she 
returned  with  some  ripe  bananas  for  my  breakfast. 

It  appears  that  she  afterwards  went  and  slept  in  her 
mother's  hut.  The  man  to  whom  she  had  been  originally 
betrothed — stung  with  disappointment  at  losing  her,  and 
hearing  she  was  to  become  the  bride  of  another — left  the 
segregation  camp  and  went  to  where  she  was  sleeping.  He 
knocked  at  the  door,  which  was  cautiously  opened  by  the 
mother,  and  rushed  in.  Seizing  the  beautiful  girl,  he  drew 
his  knife  across  her  left  breast — almost  cutting  it  in  halves. 
He  then  slashed  his  own  arm  and  rubbed  his  bleeding, 
diseased  wound  into  her  opened  bosom,  so  that  the  blood 
might  freely  mingle  together.  The  mother  made  desperate 
efforts  to  save  her  daughter,  but  failed.  As  he  left  the  hut, 
he  shouted :  "  I  have  had  my  bride.  Whoever  gets  her  will 
get  a  thorn  ;  she  is  no  longer  sweet ;  she  will  die  diseased 
as  I  am." 

The  poor  girl  was  brought  to  me  covered  with  blood, 
her  breast  looking  beyond  the  power  of  surgery,  and  the 
sad  story  was  told  me  by  some  of  her  friends  while  I  searched 
in  my  medicine-chest  for  bandages,  needles,  &c.  The  beauti- 
ful white  necklace  I  had  so  recently  placed  over  her  head 
was  stained  red,  and  her  piteous  appeals  to  me  :  "  Kill  the 
disease,  master  !    Kill  it ! "  almost  unnerved  me  for  a  moment. 

Washing  my  hands  in  a  strong  disinfectant,  I  cleansed 
the  wound  with  almost  pure  carbolic  acid,  which  burnt  the 
surface  white.  Perhaps  it  was  a  little  too  strong,  but  this 
was  no  time  for  half-measures.  It  had  to  be  "  kill  or 
cure."    She  was  very  brave  as  I  stitched  together  the  quiver- 

253 


AN  rA«T  OF  REVENGE 

ing  flesh  and  endeavoured  \o  preserve  to  her  the  figure  of 
which  she  was  so  proud,  and  which  means  so  much  to  an 
African  girl,  who  seldom  wears  clothes  above  the  waist. 
The  pain  from  the  carbolic  must  have  been  acute,  and  I 
feared  collapse,  as  she  had  lost  much  blood,  so  I  injected 
morphia  into  her  arm  to  help  her  over  the  crisis.  Before 
sailing  next  morning  I  paid  her  a  visit,  and  found  the  little 
maiden  very  prostrate,  but  not  suffering  acute  pain. 

As  I  entered  she  turned  towards  me  and  asked  :  "  Did  you 
kill  the  disease  in  my  bosom?  Will  the  scar  alzvays  show, 
even  if  I  escape  the  disease  ? 

Every  one  of  my  female  readers  will  understand  the 
feelings  of  this  girl  in  the  bloom  of  life  as  she  contemplated 
the  possible  destruction  of  her  beauty,  which,  in  her  country, 
is  seldom  covered  by  wearing-apparel. 

"  I  hope  I  have  killed  it,"  I  replied.  "  Don't  worry  about 
the  scar.  I  will  come  again  some  day,  if  I  can,  to  see  you, 
and  you  will  then  tell  me  how  quickly  the  wound  healed."" 

"  When  ?  "  she  eagerly  asked.  A  strange  earnestness  was 
in  that  interrogation.  "  When  ?  "  I  repeated  ;  and  was  about 
to  add  "Why.?''  but  I  restrained  myself.  It  was  just  as 
impossible  for  me  to  answer  her  "  When,"  as  for  her  to  have 
answered  my  "  Why,"  if  I  had  asked  her. 


S54 


CHAPTER  XV 


General  Unrest — Storming  Stockades — Rumaliza  the 
Slave-Trader 

THE  signs  of  general  unrest,  noticed  amongst  the  people 
on  the  east  and  west  coast,  were  observable  over  the 
south  end  of  the  lake,  only  here  they  were  more  pro- 
nounced. On  arrival  we  found  the  country  in  an  uproar. 
The  Itawa  Arabs  were  raiding  westwards  towards  Moero 
and  eastwards  towards  Fipa.  Their  agents  were  everywhere, 
trying  to  set  the  minds  of  the  Awemba  and  others  against  us 
by  circulating  false  reports  of  our  intentions. 

It  was  becoming  almost  impossible  to  keep  up  mail  com- 
munication with  Nyasa,  as  the  people  demanded  exorbitant 
rates  of  payment.  Petty  head-men  assumed  an  independent 
manner,  whilst  the  paramount  chief  either  withdrew  into 
solitude,  or  openly  took  sides  with  the  Arabs,  who  did  not 
hesitate  to  remind  them  of  the  fate  awaiting  all  who  de- 
serted to  us.  I  cannot  blame  the  natives,  for  the  pistol  was 
at  their  heads.  "  Your  money  or  your  life ! "  is  a  demand 
not  to  be  trifled  with,  if  you  have  no  powers  of  resistance. 

The  tribes  for  which  we  had  done  so  much  could  not  take 
their  stand  with  us,  as  we  were  powerless  to  protect  them; 
so  they  drifted  away  from  our  influence.  A  few,  who  resided 
near,  declared  it  impossible  to  remain  unless  we  erected 
stockades  around  the  villages.  In  order  to  quiet  their  fears 
this  was  done,  the  reason  given  to  outsiders  being  that  we 
wished  to  sleep  without  being  disturbed  by  lions  or  anything 
else.    Natives,  when  they  have  once  fallen  into  a  state  of  fear, 

require  a  long  time  to  calm  down.    They  take  no  chances, 

255  o 


A  FALSE  ALARM 


being  always  on  the  alert  to  scent  danger,  and  ready  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  fly  to  arms,  as  the  following  incident 
shows.  We  were  sitting  quietly  one  evening,  having  a  chat 
about  the  unfortunate  condition  of  the  country,  when  suddenly 
our  peace  was  transformed  into  a  state  of  war ;  guns  were  fired 
in  rapid  succession,  and  bullets  went  whizzing  through  the  air, 
making  one  dip  the  head  for  fear  of  becoming  a  target  for 
a  stray  shot.  Men  rushed  about  in  all  directions,  shouting, 
"Awemba!  Awemba!  Vita  Vita"  ("War!  war!  from  the 
Awemba").  Women  snatched  up  their  young  children  and 
bolted  into  our  houses.  Boys  cleared  out  of  the  opposite  side 
of  the  stockade,  jumped  into  canoes,  and  paddled  out  on  the 
lake  to  safe  distances. 

My  companion,  who  had  been  dining  with  us,  looked  at 
me,  but  did  not  speak.  I  understood  his  questioning  glance, 
and  replied  :  "  Yes  !  Carson,  it  seems  as  if  the  much-talked-of 
Awemba  have  at  last  arrived.  You  had  better  get  your  rifles ; 
we  may  need  them.'' 

Are  they  in  the  village  ? "  asked  my  wife,  as  she  rolled 
up  our  baby  in  a  shawl  ready  for  emergencies. 

"  I  have  no  idea ;  but  if  they  are,  I  should  imagine,  from 
the  number  of  shots  fired  by  our  men,  they  are  blown  to 
pieces.    Sit  still  whilst  I  go  out  and  see,  and  don't  go  out !  " 

Slipping  around  the  house  with  revolver,  rifle,  and  bugle 
(used  to  call  the  workmen),  I  ran  up  to  where  most  of  the 
men  were  blazing  through  the  stockade,  and  saw  at  a  glance 
that  if  there  were  enemies,  they  were  outside.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  make  one's  voice  heard,  so  I  blew  a  few  weird  notes  on 
the  bugle,  which  at  once  steadied  the  men.  Each,  half-crazy, 
turned  towards  me,  shouting,  "  Awemba,  Awemba  !  master." 

"  Very  well,  lie  down,  unless  you  want  to  be  speared." 

It  was  the  only  way  to  calm  them ;  they  at  once  took  the 
hint,  and  had  time  to  breathe.  On  going  up  close  to  the 
stockade,  I  saw  outside  four  prostrate  men,  and  at  first 
thought  they  were  slain  enemies;  but  my  eye  caught  sight 

256 


Head-dress  of  Aemba  Girl 


This  head-dress  is  usually  worn  by  warriors.  It  is  tied  by  a  string  to  the  back  part  ot  the  head. 
A  piece  of  ivory  is  suspended  from  her  neck  attached  to  a  string  of  beads.  Her  tribal  marks  may 
be  seen  on  the  forehead  and  side  of  the  fac3.  She  looks  stern  while  facing  the  camera,  but  in  daily 
»l4fe  she  is  full  of  fun. 


AN  INSOLENT  MESSAGE 


of  a  mail-bag  lying  beside  them.  They  were  our  own  mail 
men.  I  shouted  to  the  terror-stricken  creatures,  "  Get  up  ! 
the  war  is  over." 

They  had  had  indeed  a  narrow  escape  from  being  blown 
to  pieces.  "  We  came  in  late,"  they  said,  "  on  account  of 
the  heavy  rain,  and  on  approaching  the  hammers  of  our  guns 
fell,  discharging  the  bullets.  Immediately  all  your  people 
commenced  firing  at  us,  so  we  lay  down  under  the  poles."" 
This  will  show  to  what  a  pitch  of  excitement  the  natives 
had  been  worked  up  by  the  disturbing  reports  which  were 
freely  circulated. 

The  next  move  made  against  us  was  by  small  parties  of 
men  who  would  hide  near  the  roadside  and  frighten  our 
people,  so  that  they  could  not  travel  from  village  to  village. 
This  was  followed  by  their  sweeping  down  at  night  and 
stealing  the  standing  crops ;  so  that  not  only  inconvenience 
was  caused  by  the  roads  being  blocked,  but  starvation  was 
imminent  if  we  were  deprived  of  our  harvest.  It  was  not 
the  Alungu  themselves  who  harassed  us  with  these  annoy- 
ances, but  the  half- Arab  retainers  and  domestic  slaves.  The 
African  Lakes  Corporation  were  as  much  hampered  as  our- 
selves, suffering  considerable  loss  by  the  stoppage  of  all  trade. 

We  sent  messengers  to  the  worst  offender,  Kakungu,  who 
lived  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  and  told  him  we  could 
not  understand  these  repeated  insults  from  his  people,  and 
requested  him  to  see  that  they  ceased.  Our  messengers  were 
not  molested,  but  told  to  go  back  and  tell  the  white  men  to 
"  Sazia  Kiongo  ! "  ("  Shut  up  !  ")  This  unpleasant  command 
was  practically  an  ultimatum,  but  we  did  not  desire  to  under- 
stand it  as  such,  our  work  being  to  promote  peace,  not  war. 
You  can  have  peace,  however,  at  too  high  a  price,  no  matter 
whom  you  represent ;  for  there  comes  a  time  when  not  to  pro- 
tect one's  dependants  against  aggression  may  end  in  having 
nothing  left  to  protect. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  we  were  but  five  white 

259 


AN  ACT  OF  WAR 


men,  beyond  all  reach  of  assistance,  and  responsible  for  the 
natives  who  had  thrown  in  their  lot  with  us.  Our  patience 
under  repeated  insults  was  interpreted  by  them  as  fear,  or 
lack  of  power  to  protect  them.  In  order  to  exhaust  every 
resource  of  civilisation,  we  sent  out  armed  parties  to  protect 
the  women  as  they  gathered  in  the  corn  ;  but  these  escorts  were 
repeatedly  fired  on,  until  at  last  they  refused  point-blank  to  go, 
saying:  "This  kind  of  thing  will  go  on  all  through  the  year, 
and  we  shall  be  killed  one  by  one ;  we  must  either  fight  or  be 
killed.^' 

Kakungu  sent  me  the  treaty  Johnston  had  signed,  with 
the  message :  "  Keep  it ;  you  have  broken  your  pledge.  I 
signed  away  our  country  to  the  white  man  in  exchange  for 
protection  from  my  enemies,  but  you  have  done  nothing  to 
protect  me.  I  am  repeatedly  attacked,  and  you  let  them  eat 
me  up.  If  you  want  your  flag  back,  come  and  take  it !  If  you 
and  the  Balozi  (Consul)  come  here  again,  we'll  spear  both  of 
you  for  telling  lies."  I  remembered  Johnston's  words  when  I 
told  him  he  had  left  flags  and  no  one  to  protect  them.  "You 
need  not  anticipate  serious  trouble,  annoyance  perhaps,  because 
you  cannot  defend  the  people."  The  sequel  to  that  treaty- 
making  was  now  known. 

The  return  of  the  treaty  meant  open  war.  The  same 
week  they  caught  one  of  our  old  women  in  the  fields,  cut  off 
both  her  ears  and  her  nose,  and  slit  the  corners  of  her  mouth 
so  that  the  skin  fell  over  her  chin  and  hung  down  on  her 
neck.  The  right  hand  was  almost  severed.  In  that  condition 
she  was  sent  back  to  us  with  disgusting  messages  and  threats 
to  the  ef^ect  that  all  our  people  whom  they  caught  would  be 
similarly  dealt  with.  The  poor  old  soul  walked  home  in  this 
condition.  We  did  our  best,  but  the  inflamed  mouth  prevented 
her  eating  very  much,  and  the  general  shock  was  too  great 
for  her  strength.    She  died  eleven  days  afterwards. 

This  brought  matters  to  a  climax,  and  we  decided  to  end 
it.    Though  representing   Missionary  Society  directors  and 

260 


PREPARING  FOR  THE  ATTACK 


philanthropic  merchants,  we  had  to  accept  this  "  white  man's 
burden"  whether  we  liked  it  or  not.  Sentiment  had  to  give 
place  to  "  duty  to  man,''  and  in  this  case  that  was  equivalent 
to  "  duty  to  God,"  if  it  meant  "  Do  unto  others  as  we  would 
be  done  unto."  We  could  not  leave  our  dependants  to  be 
murdered.  So,  joining  forces  with  the  Lakes  Company,  we 
marched  into  this  den  of  brutes. 

It  was  our  desire  to  deal  them  a  smashing  blow,  to  end 
the  business  by  one  sudden,  sweeping  stroke,  so  as  to  prevent 
a  long,  guerilla-like  struggle.  Two  Europeans  went  with  the 
land  force,  two  with  the  boats.  I  was  to  demonstrate  from 
the  lake,  in  order  to  draw  the  enemy  out  from  their  stockades, 
thus  permitting  the  land  forces  to  rush  in  and  occupy  the 
villages,  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  a  river  which 
flowed  through  them.  They  were  strongly  fortified  by  a  deep 
trench ;  earth  was  plastered  up  the  sloping  sides  nearly  to  the 
top  of  the  poles,  on  which  thick  thorns  had  been  placed.  To 
get  at  the  stockade,  the  ditch  had  to  be  crossed  and  the 
smooth  sides  of  the  earth  embankment  scaled.  When  that 
was  done,  it  was  impossible  to  get  in  without  climbing  over 
the  thorns.  These  particulars  had  been  ascertained  during 
the  previous  visits. 

We  bound  oakum  dipped  in  turpentine  around  arrow-heads, 
to  set  fire  to  the  grass  huts  in  case  of  failure  to  take  the  place 
by  storm. 

Arriving  at  the  arranged  time,  we  found  that  the  natives 
had  discovered  the  approach  of  the  lake  division.  They 
danced  along  the  sand,  calling  us  all  kinds  of  filthy  names, 
and  defied  us  to  come  on  shore.  In  order  to  keep  up  the 
diversion,  we  moved  slowly  along  the  bay,  firing  an  occasional 
shot  over  their  heads ;  this  made  them  more  bold,  and  drew 
them  away  from  the  forts,  which  was  our  object.  The  glitter- 
ing spears  of  the  land  force  could  be  seen  coming  over  the 
hills  at  the  back  of  the  villages  ;  but,  instead  of  at  once  rush- 
ing into  the  stockade,  then  undefended,  they  came  down  to 

261 


STORMING  STOCKADES 


the  shore  to  drink.  Of  course  this  gave  the  enemy  time  to 
get  back  home,  and  our  ruse  was  spoiled. 

When  we  landed  and  asked  our  companions  why  they  had 
lost  such  a  chance,  they  said  the  people  refused  to  fight  before 
quenching  their  thirst.  This  was  most  annoying,  and  victory 
was  now  quite  an  open  question. 

It  served  no  purpose  to  stand  still  and  grumble;  our 
natives  must  be  kept  moving  in  work  of  this  kind,  otherwise 
they  would  bolt.  So  we  divided  our  force  into  four  companies, 
and  crept  up  under  cover  of  the  maize  gardens,  telling  our  men 
to  fire  a  volley  at  the  earthworks,  and  then  to  lie  down. 

The  defenders  would  be  sure  to  empty  all  their  guns  and 
bows,  and  then  we  were  to  rush  the  trench,  get  under  the 
embankment,  and  set  fire  to  the  huts. 

We  volleyed,  as  arranged,  and  rushed  the  trench,  climbing 
with  difficulty  the  slanting  earth  bank,  in  which  we  had  to 
cut  holes  for  foothold.  Several  ineffectual  attempts  to  scale 
the  thorns  failed.  As  I  thrust  my  rifle  through  the  poles, 
some  one  from  the  inside  jammed  his  gun  on  the  top  of  mine 
and  fired.  I  was  just  out  of  line,  but  the  flash  scorched  my 
right  ear.  This  kind  of  give  and  take  continued  for  some 
time,  and  we  were  making  no  progress,  when  I  heard  our 
people  shout,  "  A  white  man  has  been  shot."  "  Never 
mind,"  I  replied ;  "  mind  you  don't  get  a  similar  dose.  Give 
me  those  arrows,  a  small  bow,  and  matches." 

In  an  instant  I  had  an  arrow  strung,  and  setting  alight 
the  prepared  oakum,  I  gently  fired  it  into  the  thatch  of  a  hut 
which  was  quite  near  me.  The  grass  caught  at  once,  and 
though  I  could  not  see  any  one  I  kept  up  a  rapid  fire  into 
space,  to  scare  away  any  who  might  attempt  to  put  out  the 
fire.  In  a  few  seconds  it  was  well  alight,  and  jumping  down 
into  the  trench,  I  ordered  my  party  back  under  cover  of  the 
maize.    I  knew  the  place  was  ours. 

James  Yule,  the  well-known  African  pioneer  and  hunter, 
had  also  set  on  fire  his  section. 

262 


I 


STORMING  STOCKADES 


"Shout  '  Hippuray,' "  I  said.  (It  is  a  corruption  of  our 
Hip-hip-hurrah.)  They  shouted  as  one  man,  and  the  defenders 
must  have  thought  it  was  all  over,  for  this,  coupled  with  the 
burning  village,  made  them  conclude  we  were  inside.  We 
were  not ;  no  one  had  got  in  up  to  that  moment ;  but  soon 
after  Yule  bundled  his  men  over,  and  they  ran  and  unfastened 
the  gate.  We  rushed  through  it,  and  saw  the  enemy  retreat- 
ing across  the  river,  away  from  the  flames  and  smoke.  So 
much  the  better  for  us ;  but  there  remained  the  river  to  cross 
and  No.  2  stockade  to  storm ;  the  battle  was  by  no  means 
won.  We  saw  this,  and  giving  the  enemy  no  time  to  barri- 
cade the  doorway,  we  poured  a  heavy  fire  on  it.  No  one 
dared  to  stop  in  its  neighbourhood ;  no  one  wanted  to, 
apparently,  for  they  rushed  right  through  the  village  and 
out  on  the  other  side. 

Yule  and  I  and  our  men  were  soon  through  that  stream, 
up  the  opposite  slope  and  through  the  gateway,  surrounded 
by  a  howling  crowd  of  followers,  who  found  nothing  more 
dangerous  to  hunt  than  fowls  and  pigeons.  It  was  the  chiefs 
village,  over  which  was  flying  the  very  British  ensign  given 
him  by  Johnston  and  myself  when  the  treaty  was  signed. 
Ivory  lay  by  the  side  of  the  staff';  they  had  had  no  time  to 
carry  it  away,  for  our  movements  were  too  rapid. 

"  You  take  the  ivory,  Yule,  and  Fll  go  for  this  flag  which 
those  brutes  invited  me  to  come  for." 

"  I  guess  they  never  dreamed  we  should  lower  it  in  all  this 
smoke,"  he  replied,  as  I  hauled  down  our  national  flag.  We 
had  saved  it  from  being  lowered  in  disgrace.  We  saw  the 
people  creeping  up  the  rocky  hills,  and  only  a  few  of  the 
more  daring  ventured  to  linger  to  send  among  us  a  few  parting 
shots.    "  Shall  we  go  after  them  ?  "  our  men  asked. 

"  No !  let  them  go,  and  a  good  riddance.  We  did  not 
come  here  to  kill  them,  but  to  save  you  and  your  families. 
Understand  ?  " 

"  Yes,  master ;  they  will  never  interfere  with  us  again ; 

265 


STORMING  STOCKADES 


we  shall  lose  no  more  children,  now  these  slave-raiders  are 
defeated.  We  have  burned  down  the  tree  in  which  the  bees 
had  their  home.'' 

This  illustration  was  taken  from  their  habit  of  burning 
out  bees  to  get  at  the  honey,  and  it  proved  a  true  one,  for 
when  that  flag  of  Great  Britain  came  down,  lowered  by  two 
of  her  sons,  it  marked  the  complete  destruction  of  slavery 
in  our  sphere  of  influence  at  South  Tanganyika.  The  charred 
remains  of  that  hotbed  of  cruelty  and  oppression  have  been 
cleared  away,  and  to-day  the  empires  of  Britain  and  Germany 
meet  and  keep  guard  over  those  Africans.  Separated  by  that 
little  river,  which  we  crossed  under  fire  in  our  victorious  attack 
on  the  last  stronghold  of  oppression,  these  two  mighty  empires 
vie  with  each  other  in  upholding  all  those  great  principles 
which  were  embodied  in  the  treaty  signed  by  Johnston, 
Kakungu,  and  myself  before  the  storm-cloud  burst. 

I  doubt  if  either  Yule  or  myself  realised,  in  the  heat  of 
conflict  and  the  joy  of  victory,  the  significance  of  those  clouds 
of  smoke  which  drove  us  out  of  the  villages,  or  knew  that 
our  work  was  accomplished  when  the  sun  set  on  that  day 
of  conflict,  which  must  ever  remain  in  the  records  of  that 
country  as  a  red-letter  day,  the  day  of  freedom. 

"  Where  are  Law  and  Moore,  Yule  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Law  was  struck  by  an  arrow  early  in  the  attack,  and 
Moore  carried  him  to  the  vessel ;  let's  go  and  see  how  he  is." 

We  found  him  stretched  on  a  couch,  very  pale,  and  scarcely 
able  to  speak.  An  irritating  cough  made  the  blood  flow  from 
a  nasty  wound  about  an  inch  above  the  heart.  It  appeared 
that  he  had  issued  from  the  maize  gardens  right  opposite  the 
village  gate,  and  wishing  to  blow  it  down,  had  fired  at  it 
with  his  heavy  elephant  rifle.  As  he  did  so,  he  saw  a  native 
draw  his  bow  and  let  fly  an  arrow  through  the  chink  between 
the  door  and  the  post.  It  struck  him  fairly  in  the  chest, 
and  the  force  of  it,  added  to  the  recoil  of  the  heavy  rifle, 
knocked  him  down ;  and  in  falling  he  twisted  the  arrow, 

266 


Ga  1  lll,);iN(.,    1  loM.  \ 

The  honey-bird  invariably  leads  the  hunter  to  either  honey  or  game.  Holes  are  cut  below'the 
bees'  nest  and  fire  applied ;  the  honey  is  then  extracted  from  the  hole  through  which  the  bees 
enter.  If  very  hungry  the  natives  do  not  always  wait  to  apply  fire.  The  legend  is  that  bees 
once  stung  the  young  of  a  honey-hird  to  death,  and  that  in  this  manner  the  birds  are  taking 
their  revenge. 


STORMING  STOCKADES 


making  the  wound  more  severe  than  it  might  otherwise  have 
been.  He  pulled  the  arrow  out  and  fainted.  I  washed  and 
dried  the  wound,  applying  a  disinfectant  for  fear  of  vegetable 
poison,  painted  some  wool  with  collodion,  laid  it  on  the  wound, 
and  covered  it  up  with  some  thick  porridge  to  check  excessive 
bleeding.  A  sleeping-draught  kept  him  quiet  and  stopped 
the  cough. 

We  sailed  all  night,  reaching  our  doctor  next  morning, 
who  found  that  the  lung  was  not  injured,  and  that  the  heart 
had  been  missed  by  the  fraction  of  an  inch.  In  a  month  or 
two  he  recovered,  but  it  was  a  near  thing.  A  few  years  after- 
wards, whilst  swimming  in  a  small  lake,  not  far  from  his 
station,  after  a  duck  he  had  shot,  he  suddenly  sank  and  was 
drowned.  I  often  wondered  whether  his  sudden  collapse  was 
in  any  way  due  to  the  results  of  this  serious  wound. 

Moore  contracted  dysentery,  probably  from  over-fatigue, 
bad  water,  and  bad  food,  and  died  soon  after  the  fight. 
James  Yule,  whose  energy,  pluck,  and  daring  were  an  inspira- 
tion to  us  all,  is  still  alive,  and  dwelling  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  scenes  of  action  I  have  just  described. 

The  chief,  Kakungu,  was  afterwards  captured,  and  died 
in  exile  near  Lake  Nyasa,  and  his  fiendish  followers  were 
scattered.  The  news  of  his  crushing  defeat  spread  swiftly 
all  over  the  country,  making  sundry  other  petty  ruffians  escape 
hastily  to  other  climes,  whilst  all  those  who  had  been  sitting 
on  the  fence  jumped  down  on  our  side.  Trade  revived,  as 
it  was  now  no  longer  dangerous  to  travel.  Schools  were 
established,  workshops  erected  in  several  districts,  and  en- 
couragement given  to  thrift,  as  the  people  now  felt  that 
whatever  they  accumulated  in  the  shape  of  goats,  sheep,  or 
cattle  would  be  safe  from  pillage. 

Being  now  anxious  to  hear  how  matters  were  going  between 
the  Congo  State  and  the  Arabs,  I  made  a  flying  visit  to  Ujiji, 
taking  my  wife  and  child.  We  found  the  place  in  a  state  of 
excitement,  owing  to  the  serious  illness  of  Rumaliza''s  principal 

269 


RUMALIZA  THE  SLAVE-TRADER 


wife,  who  had  ahvays  been  extremely  kind  to  my  wife;  so 
we  sent  her  messages  of  sympathy  and  inquiry,  begging  to 
be  excused  from  visiting  her  whilst  she  was  so  ill.  We  were 
afraid  of  inconveniencing  Rumaliza,  as  harem  rules  are  very 
strict.  In  reply  to  this,  Rumaliza  sent  an  urgent  message 
saying,  "  Come  at  once ;  we  wish  to  see  you."'"' 

It  was  perhaps  somewhat  risky  to  put  this  man's  friend- 
ship to  such  a  test  in  what  might  prove  an  hour  of  bereave- 
ment, for  she  was  his  first  lawful  wife  and  mother  of  his 
eldest  son.  He  was  also  then  at  war  with  Europeans ; 
although  that  was  not  our  business. 

We  were  received  with  every  mark  of  courtesy,  given 
comfortable  quarters,  attendants,  and  food.  My  wife  went 
at  once  to  the  sick  woman,  while  I  remained  talking  to  her 
husband,  who  described  her  serious  illness.  "Can  you  cure 
this?''  he  asked. 

"  I  cannot,  Rumaliza ;  I  am  not  a  doctor,  and  cannot 
venture  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Only  an  experienced 
man  dare  interfere  in  such  serious  cases." 

"  Will  you  see  her  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  if  you  wish  it ;  but  don't  ask  me  in  her 
presence  to  cure  her." 

I  found  my  wife  sitting  beside  her,  and  one  glance  showed 
me  that  the  poor  woman  had  not  long  to  live.  She  beckoned 
to  me,  and  as  I  bent  over  to  hear  her  words,  she  whispered, 
"  Sew  up  the  wound,  sew  it  up,  that  I  may  live  to  see  my 
children  again."  Rumaliza  heard  those  words,  "that  I 
may  live  to  see  my  children."  I  wondered  if  he  heard  the 
voices  of  those  tens  of  thousands  of  mothers  away  yonder 
at  the  coast,  whom  he  had  separated  from  their  children, 
crying  and  wailing  in  their  grief.  I  did  if  he  did  not.  "  Try 
and  sleep,  Bibi"  (lady);  "it  is  late  now — we  will  come  in  the 
morning,"  I  replied. 

"  Will  this  child  of  mine  "  (pointing  to  my  wife)  "  come  and 
sit  with  me  ?    She  is  so  far  away  from  her  own  mother." 

270 


RUMALIZA  THE  SLAVE-TRADER 


"  Yes,  she  will  gladly  come,  and  bathe  your  face  and 
hands.    Good-night ! " 

As  soon  as  we  were  outside,  Rumaliza  asked:  "Tell  me 
the  truth  !    Is  she  dangerously  ill  ?  " 

"Yes,  she  is,  and  so  far  as  I  can  judge  by  her  weak 
pulse,  she  cannot  live  long.  I  would  do  anything  to  save 
her,  if  only  in  return  for  your  having  saved  us,  but  it  is 
beyond  our  power."" 

"I  know  you  would,"  he  replied.  "Go  and  rest;  you 
are  both  safe  here,  with  your  child,  no  matter  what  happens."' 

Early  next  morning  prostrate  women  lay  all  over  the 
courtyard,  wailing  bitterly  and  crying,  "  Mama,  Bibi,  Mama,'' 
and  we  knew  the  great  head  of  this  opulent  household  was 
gone;  for  she  reigned  supreme  in  her  home. 

We  also  knew  that  however  cruel  this  man  had  been 
in  his  wholesale  dealings  with  pagans — as  he  called  them — 
he  could  sulfer  from  those  human  sorrows  which  do  not  afflict 
the  tender-hearted  alone. 

The  body  of  this  Arab  woman,  who  had  never  been 
allowed  to  step  on  to  the  public  verandah  of  her  lord  and 
master  when  alive,  was  now  strapped  under  her  bedstead, 
covered  with  calico,  and  placed  in  the  centre  of  it.  The 
apparently  empty  bed  was,  I  thought,  very  touching  indeed. 
It  was  laid  on  the  place  of  honour,  the  highest  mark  of 
public  respect  her  lord  could  pay  his  wife. 

We  were  invited  to  be  present  at  the  funeral,  special 
praying-mats  being  placed  near  the  grave  for  our  use.  All 
his  relatives  approached  the  bedstead  and  kissed  the  valance 
with  which  it  was  draped,  as  a  sign  that  there  was  nothing 
but  affection  towards  her  in  their  hearts  when  she  died. 
Rumaliza  came  last  and  alone.  As  he  approached  the 
verandah  he  removed  his  sandals,  according  to  the  usual 
custom.  All  his  relatives  bent  low,  with  their  hands  crossed 
on  their  breasts,  as  the  master  quietly  placed  his  sandals 
and  her  fan  on  the  bed.    As  he  did  so,  I  noticed  tears  run 

271 


RUMALIZA  THE  SLAVE  TRADER 


down  the  great  slaver's  face.  Yes,  Rumaliza  The  one  who 
utterly  finishes'")  was  made  to  shed  tears  when  his  home 
was  entered  by  the  Finisher  of  life,  which  had  reaped  so 
many  harvests  in  his  hideous  raids. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  placing  those  sandals  and  fan 
on  the  bed?"  I  asked. 

"It  was  an  expression  of  his  intention  to  join  her  in 
the  other  life.  They  were  the  sandals  he  wore  only  in  her 
private  room,  and  by  burying  them  with  her  he  tells  his 
household  it  is  his  command  that  no  other  woman  must 
occupy  that  portion  of  the  house,  and  that  he  will  never  walk 
there  again." 

We  left  the  town  soon  afterwards,  as  the  incessant  cries 
of  the  women  made  us  miserable.  In  four  days  we  were  at 
home,  listening  to  the  voices  of  black  children  as  they  sang 
hymns  over  our  third  little  mound  in  Africa.  Bronchitis  had 
seized  our  only  remaining  child,  and  before  we  realised  that  he 
was  ill  he  was  gone. 

"You  will  go  away  now  you  have  lost  your  son,"'  said 
an  old  woman  who  had  attended  him. 

"  We  shall  go  away  when  our  work  is  finished  and  you 
are  free,"  I  replied.  "Our  boy  is  not  lost;  we  shall  see 
him  again." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  she  eagerly  asked. 

Did  she  feel  unsatisfied  with  her  own  vague  beliefs,  and, 
like  most  of  us,  wish  to  know  the  unknown  ?  Knowledge 
instead  of  faith ! 

As  the  great  political  climax  drew  near,  events  seemed  to 
rush  on  with  perplexing  rapidity.  An  urgent  letter  from 
Rumaliza  took  me  again  to  Ujiji,  and  for  the  last  time.  I 
was  accompanied  by  a  trader  who  wished  to  purchase  ivory. 
"  Buy  our  ivory !  sell  us  the  steamer ;  we  will  give  it  to  these 
traders  if  they  will  only  take  our  ivory."  These  appeals  were 
made  to  me  by  Rumaliza  on  landing. 

"  No,"  I  replied,  "  I  never  have,  and  never  will  trade  ;  you 

272 


RUMALIZA  THE  SLAVE-TRADER 

know  that.  Sell  to  this  man,  if  you  like;  iVs  his  business. 
I  am  leaving  Tanganyika  for  ever.  You  are  fighting  the 
Congo  State ;  I  have  always  told  you  it  was  a  mistake,  and 
you  will  be  crushed,  but  you  have  not  taken  my  advice. 
Tip-pu-Tib  was  wiser — he  left.  You  have  always  been  my 
friend,  and  the  least  return  I  can  make  is  to  try  and  save  you 
from  yourself,  as  I  have  tried  to  rescue  the  natives  from  your 
cruel  trade.  My  mouth  has  never  been  filled  with  honey  when 
speaking  to  you  in  this  land.  It  w^as  not  my  work  to  fight 
against  you  with  powder  and  shot,  but  I  and  my  comrades 
have  never  ceased  to  do  so  by  every  other  means  in  our  power. 
We  have  just  returned  from  using  force  against  some  who 
attacked  us,  and  have  swept  British  Tanganyika  clean.  Other 
nations  will  soon  do  the  same  here  and  on  the  Congo.  Will 
you  take  my  last  advice  and  stop  your  work  ?  " 

"I  cannot,"  he  replied;  "all  my  wealth  and  people  are  in 
this  country.'' 

It  was  a  fatal  decision  for  him.  He  had  pronounced  his 
own  doom,  and  the  salvation  of  Central  Africans. 

Very  well,  I  have  finished ;  sell  your  ivory  to  this  man. 
It's  nothing  to  me." 

Cannot  you  put  the  British  flag  over  all  the  lake  ? "  he 
asked. 

No,  I  cannot.  Years  ago  we  hoisted  it  in  this  town,  and 
you  tore  it  down ;  and  besides,  look  at  that !  " 

Here  I  pointed  up  to  the  German  flag,  which  Emin  Pasha 
had  sent  him  long  since. 

"  Good-bye,  Rumaliza,  good-bye !  thank  you  for  all  the 
protection  you  have  given  to  me  and  mine.  I  have  begged 
you  to  extend  it  to  these  poor  Africans,  and  you  refuse.  We 
must  now  part ; and  turning  to  the  flagstaff,  I  saluted  the 
Kaiser's  ensign,  and  left  the  historic  place  where  that  daring 
pioneer  Stanley  — sent  out,  to  their  honour,  by  our  American 
cousins — met  David  Livingstone. 

Rumaliza  fought  for,  and  lost,  the  Congo.    He  was  crushed, 

273 


RUMALIZA  THE  SLAVE-TRADER 


together  with  all  the  vile  hordes  which  for  so  many  years  had 
struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  Africans.  Civilisation  had 
triumphed.  Nations  whose  mottoes  were  Freedom,  Justice, 
and  Protection  had  planted  their  standards  around  the  great 
lake. 

A  few  days  later  we  were  marching  homewards.  At  the  top 
of  the  plateau,  I  turned  round  to  take  a  long  last  look  at  the  great 
Tanganyika  before  it  was  hidden  by  the  trees.  A  panorama 
of  the  past  eleven  years  unfolded  itself  to  my  mind's  eye.  Its 
weary  work,  disappointment,  and  failures  were  vividly  remem- 
bered, but  it  had  been  a  life  worth  living.  I  could  hear  again 
the  sailor's  cheery  "  So  long  "  at  Zanzibar.  I  could  see  again 
the  boat  journey,  the  dying  slaves,  the  maiden  leaping  from 
the  cliff,  the  midnight  conferences  with  Arabs,  and  the  final 
rush  through  water  and  smoke  to  capture  a  British  flag  for 
Britain.  A  part  of  the  great  equatorial  tragedy  of  chaos 
and  death  was  finished.  The  little  rain-cloud  seen  in  the 
distance  by  Tip-pu-Tib  had  covered  the  sky  and  burst. 

Our  attempts  to  do  something  to  help  our  country  to  take 
up  its  share  of  the  "  white  man's  burden  "  were  rewarded  by  the 
sight  of  a  little  red  ensign  which  we  could  see  waving  an  adieu 
to  us  from  a  flagstaff  on  the  lake  shore. 

Turning  to  my  wife,  I  said,  "  Let's  go,  and  thank  God  it's 
British  territory.'' 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  "  it  is — hut  some  of  it  is  ours!'''' 

Did  she  mean  that 

We  were  unwilling  owners  of  land, 

With  two  small  claims  pegged  out  on  the  veldt, 

And  another  marked  in  the  sand  ? 


274 


CHAPTER  XVI 


The  Potentialities  of  the  African — Suppression  of  Raiding — 
Children's  Games — Analysing  the  Native  Character 

1MUST  leave  to  others  the  task  of  recording  the  work 
done  on  Tanganyika  by  ordained  missionaries.  Their 
educational  and  industrial  successes  were  by  no  means 
small,  but  there  are  so  many  debatable  problems  associated 
with  all  African  mission  work,  and  they  need  such  careful 
study,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  room  in  these 
pages  for  the  discussion  of  so  large  a  subject — even  if  I  felt 
more  competent  to  deal  with  it. 

I  will  set  down  my  ideas  on  the  educational  question  only ; 
and  perhaps  the  simplest  and  briefest  manner  in  which  I  can 
do  this  is  to  record  a  conversation  which  passed  between  me 
and  a  supporter  of  missions  whom  I  met  in  England. 

He  asked  :  *'  Can  you  put  down  in  black  and  white  the 
educational  results  obtained  on  the  lake  by  the  London 
Missionary  Society's  representatives,  both  lay  and  ordained  ? 

I  happened  to  have  with  me  a  letter  received  that  week 
from  a  native  boy,  formerly  a  slave.  It  was  just  an  ordinary 
note  containing  hews  of  the  country  generally,  and  of  his 
village  and  relations  in  particular.  There  was  nothing  of 
the  "goody-goody"  style  about  it — just  a  boy's  chat  to  his 
old  master.  Perhaps  the  most  important  item  to  the  writer 
of  the  letter  was  that  he  had  redeemed  from  slavery  his 
own  sister.  He  himself  had  been  redeemed  by  a  white 
man. 

I  handed  this  to  my  friend,  saying,  "  No,  I  cannot !  but 
see,  an  African  lad  has  made  a  shot  at  it.  Read  what  he 
says,  and  calculate  the  total  results." 

275 


POTENTIALITIES  OF  THE  AFRICAN 


"  I  cannot,  for  I  do  not  understand  the  language,""  he  replied. 

"  Exactly  !  that  is  the  boy's  answer  to  your  question  about 
results.  Your  education,  in  this  particular,  is  not  complete; 
the  results,  nil.  You  do  not  know  what  he  means  to  convey 
to  you  on  that  sheet  of  paper,  being  ignorant  of  his  language ; 
he  might  as  well  have  written  in  ancient  hieroglyphics.  At 
the  time  your  representatives  went  to  Tanganyika,  that  boy 
had  no  idea  he  could  express  himself  in  any  other  manner 
than  by  his  voice.  Had  you  told  him  you  could  put  his 
thoughts  on  paper  and  send  them  over  the  lake  to  his  sister, 
most  probably  he  would  have  pretended  to  believe  you  when 
in  your  presence,  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  some  fun  at  your 
expense  with  his  chums  around  the  camp-fire. 

"  Do  not  the  mighty  intellects  which  rule  the  world  to-day 
owe  all  they  know  to  the  alphabet  ?  That  boy  is  on  the  same 
track  that  was  trodden  by  our  great  men — by  a  Simpson  sooth- 
ing the  agony  of  millions ;  a  Tyndall  searching  out  the  secrets 
of  the  elements ;  a  Herschell  tracing  the  orbit  of  a  distant 
planet;  a  Shakespeare,  a  Milton,  and  a  host  of  intellectual 
giants  of  all  nations.  A,  B,  C  and  1,  2,  3  were  their  first 
stepping-stones.  The  writer  of  that  letter  is  on  the  same 
road !  Can  you  tell  me  what  will  be  the  results  of  his  upward 
march  ?  Will  he  overtake  and  pass  the  man  who  is  analysing 
the  sunbeam,  continue  his  journey  until  he  finds  the  '  Power 
which  rolls  the  stars  along,**  that  Power  of  whom  Christianity 
tells  us,  conveying  its  Scriptural  teachings  through  the  alphabet! 
If  you  can  put  the  possible  results  in  black  and  white,  it  is 
more  than  I  have  time  to  attempt ! " 

My  questioner  returned  me  the  letter,  saying : 

"  I  see  your  point ;  you  are  satisfied  to  have  put  his  foot 
on  the  letter  A  ! 

"  That's  it !  He  is  on  the  rails !  Feed  him  with  fuel,  and 
the  actual  mileage  he  will  travel  can  only  be  recorded  on  the 
dial  of  history,  when  you  and  I  are  forgotten.  Pull  the 
wrong  lever,  and  the  engine  runs  backwards!" 

276 


SUPPRESSION  OF  RAIDING 


"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  you  are  right ;  we  must  not  add  up  the 
sum  to-day." 

When  we  turned  our  backs  on  the  lake  we  left  many 
feet  on  the  letter  A,  and  the  knowledge  helped  to  make  our 
journey  to  Nyasaland  more  pleasant. 

But  the  transformation  scene  at  Lake  Nyasa  was  very 
painful  to  witness.  I  looked  in  vain  for  those  miles  of 
banana  groves,  and  clean-swept  villages,  which  we  noticed 
on  our  former  journey.  Where  were  the  crowds  of  athletic 
warriors  whom  we  saw  trot  down  to  bathe  and  engai^e  in 
mimic  warfare  on  the  sand  ?  All  gone !  Not  a  trace  of  the 
former  beauty  remained !  It  looked  as  if  a  whole  tribe  had 
been  wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  in  an  hour's  talk 
with  Fotheringham,  the  brave  defender  of  the  Wankonde,  we 
learnt  the  whole  miserable  story. 

The  half-caste  Arabs  had  fallen  on  the  tribe,  giving  no 
quarter.  Village  after  village  was  burned,  the  fugitives  hunted 
out  of  the  hills  and  driven  into  a  lagoon  amongst  the  reeds, 
which  were  then  set  on  fire.  There  was  no  escape,  for  the 
flames  spared  none  but  those  who  preferred  to  leap  into  the 
jaws  of  the  crocodiles,  and  those  who  endeavoured  to  escape 
both  were  shot  down  by  the  brutes  on  the  banks.  Practically 
a  whole  division  of  the  tribe  was  annihilated,  and  what  was 
once  the  garden  of  Nyasaland  became  the  most  desolate  spot 
imaginable.  Fotheringham  and  a  few  brave  fellows  were 
besieged,  but  refused  to  capitulate ;  they  fought  desperately, 
repelling  repeated  attacks.  Smallpox  broke  out,  and  the 
diseases  caused  by  bad  sanitation,  privation,  &c. ;  but,  nothing 
daunted,  the  little  band  held  their  own,  finally  making  a 
successful  sortie,  and  escaping  to  a  more  favourable  position  to 
renew  the  attack.  A  long  and  desperate  struggle  followed, 
during  which  many  brave  actions  were  performed ;  but  the 
white  men  were  gradually  getting  the  upper  hand,  when 
Consul  Johnston  arrived  and  made  a  temporary  peace.  This 
was  only  the  usual  calm  before  the  storm. 


SUPPRESSION  OF  RAIDING 


I  inquired  what  became  of  the  old  medicine-man  whom 
I  had  visited  in  the  hills,  and  whom  I  last  saw  disappearing 
around  the  rock  near  to  the  deadly  spear  which  hung  over  the 
path,  and  was  told  that  the  Arabs  hated  him  for  making 
medicine  against  them.  They  surrounded  his  rocky  retreat, 
and  forced  him  to  capitulate  through  hunger.  The  poor 
wretch  was  tied  to  some  very  light  pith-wood  trees,  used  by 
fishermen  as  buoys  for  their  traps ;  the  raft  was  then  placed 
on  the  lagoon,  with  fresh-cut  goat's-meat  to  attract  the  crocs. 
His  tormentors  sat  on  the  bank,  watching  the  crocs  fight 
for  his  body.  This  being  firmly  lashed,  the  creatures  could 
only  snap  at  him ;  the  buoyant  wood  prevented  them  from 
carrying  him  under  water.  It  is  said  they  tore  him  to  pieces, 
and  one  can  imagine  what  torture  he  must  have  suffered  as  he 
lay  helplessly  looking  at  the  green-eyed  monsters  swimming 
around  the  raft  and  trying  to  get  a  favourable  opportunity  of 
biting  off  a  limb.  When  he  was  nearly  torn  to  pieces  the  Arabs 
amused  themselves,  as  they  sat,  by  firing  at  the  crocodiles. 

As  I  listened  to  the  gruesome  story  I  could  not  help 
forgiving  him  for  what  he  had  plotted  against  me,  and  would 
have  brought  about  if  that  spear  had  descended  and  transfixed 
me  to  the  path. 

Before  the  month  ended  I  met  Johnston  as  he  was  re- 
turning to  grapple  with  Nyasaland  problems,  and  accepted  his 
invitation  to  come  back,  if  possible,  and  help  to  solve  them. 

A  few  months'  rest  in  England  quickly  passed,  during  which 
I  resigned  my  position  under  the  London  Missionary  Society ; 
and  for  the  third  time  I  landed  in  Africa  to  get  to  grips  with. 
the  Arabs,  this  time  through  the  Zambezi  gateway,  and  as  a 
Government  official. 

The  Cape  to  Cairo  telegraph  line  was  fast  creeping  up 
through  the  country;  a  wild  dream  it  w^as  then  called,  but 
science  moved  so  rapidly  that  ere  it  reached  Tanganyika  it 
was  out  of  date  and  wireless  telegraphy  had  taken  the  field. 

278 


SUPPRESSION  OF  RAIDING 


A  handful  of  traders  had  elected  to  try  their  fortunes 
in  the  Shire  Highlands.  The  prospect  looked  encouraging 
on  paper.  Coffee  was  selling  at  ^112  per  ton.  Land  was 
cheap  and  plentiful.  Big  game  abounded.  Powerful  missions 
had  been  established  by  the  universities  and  by  the  Established 
and  Free  Churches  of  Scotland,  but  the  slave-trade  was  very 
much  in  evidence. 

The  country  itself  was  difficult  of  approach,  being  entirely 
cut  off  from  the  seacoast  by  Portuguese  territory.  The  Zambezi 
and  Shire  Rivers  alone  gave  access  to  the  interior,  both  of  them 
being  hardly  navigable  during  the  dry  season. 

Johnston's  task  was  to  establish  responsible  government  as 
economically  as  possible.  For  financial  reasons  it  was  out  of 
the  question  to  smash  with  one  blow  all  opponents  to  progress. 
The  operations  had  to  be  carried  out  piecemeal,  the  puzzle 
worked  out  with  patience. 

There  were  powerful  philanthropical  interests  to  be  studied, 
for  these  had  already  done  much  towards  the  uplifting  of  the 
native  races,  without  the  assistance  of  Government.  Tribal 
jealousies  needed  analysing,  as  it  was  easy  to  do  an  injustice 
to  one  division  of  the  people,  by  acting  precipitately  on 
the  vague  reports  of  others.  Not  only  had  the  tribes  who 
lived  in  the  Protectorate  to  be  studied,  but  the  adjacent 
powerful  chiefs,  such  as  Mpezeni,  who  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  claiming  tribute  from  our  people. 

The  international  questions  I  must  leave  alone,  or  leave 
to  the  imagination,  for  politics  are  dangerous  to  write  about, 
especially  for  the  amateur. 

I  have  frequently  heard  hunters  say  :  "  So-and-so  always 
seemed  a  decent  sort  of  chap  ;  I  always  hunted  in  his  country, 
and  had  a  good  time  generally.  It  seems  a  pity  he  had  to  be 
'  gone  for'" — and  so  on.  All  this  is  perfectly  true,  but  those 
men  often  forget  that  it  is  one  thing  to  meet  native  chiefs  as  a 
hunter  and  traveller,  prepared  to  pay  heavily  for  guides  to  the 
best  game  resorts,  to  give  and  receive  valuable  presents,  but 

m 


SUPPRESSION  OF  RAIDING 


quite  another  matter  to  go  as  the  representative  of  another 
power,  and  to  be  compelled  to  punctuate  your  conversation 
with  "  Thou  shalt "  and  "  Thou  shalt  not ! 

It  was  so  in  Nyasaland.  Several  chiefs  who  behaved 
decently  to  isolated  Europeans  had  to  be  severely  dealt  with 
by  officials  responsible  to  the  Crown.  Some  of  the  great  Yao 
chiefs  took  the  field  against  the  new  order  of  things,  caus- 
ing trouble  and  expense;  but  of  course  the  real  disease  was 
the  slave-trade,  out  of  which,  directly  or  indirectly,  nearly 
all  the  other  troubles  arose.  It  was  the  same  story  as  at 
Tanganyika — oppression,  murder,  devastation;  and  the  same 
rain-cloud  was  visible  in  the  distance,  but  there  was  no  Tip- 
pu-Tib  with  sense  enough  to  divine  its  meaning.  Blind 
opposition  marked  the  course  of  events,  until  the  final  crushing 
blow  was  dealt. 

I  was  sent  with  ten  Indian  Sikhs  to  the  extreme  north 
end,  to  check  the  Arabs  who  were  importing  ammunition 
from  the  East  Coast,  and  to  stop  the  murderous  raids 
of  the  Northern  Angoni,  who  came  down  from  the  hills 
and  dipped  their  assegais,  as  they  said,  in  the  weak 
blood  of  the  fishermen.  These  half-wild  hill-people  formed 
part  of  the  horde  of  semi-Zulus  who  crossed  the  Zambezi 
many  years  previously,  after  their  great  battles  in  the 
south. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  collided  with  them,  for  a  party 
soon  commenced  their  little  game  in  our  direction.  I  de- 
spatched the  Sikhs  to  capture  them  without  fighting,  if  possible, 
and  this  they  did.  The  leader  of  the  crowd  wore  the  well- 
known  ring  on  his  head ;  he  was  about  middle  age,  and 
although  quiet,  was  evidently  disgusted  at  having  his  liberty 
curtailed  in  this  summary  fashion.  It  was  a  new  experience 
in  his  life. 

A  talk  soon  revealed  the  fact  that  they  knew  the  Scotch 
missionaries.  Doctors  Laws  and  Elmslie,  and  as  I  had  no  other 
object  than  to  stop  the  raids,  I  released  the  lot,  on  the  assurance 

280 


SUPPRESSION  OF  RAIDING 


from  the  Doctors  that  it  would  not  happen  again.  So  great 
was  the  influence  of  those  missionaries  that  the  promise  was 
respected  ;  it  was  the  last  raid  in  our  direction. 

Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  to  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  men  for  the  plucky  and  tactful  manner  in  which 
they  handled  such  a  wild  and  powerful  tribe,  without  the 
slightest  assistance  of  protection  from  the  Government,  which 
had  not  then  been  established. 

These  two  Doctors  had  a  remarkable  escape  from  a  lion 
whilst  on  their  way  to  pay  me  a  visit.  A  beast  sprang 
on  their  tent  at  night,  tearing  part  of  the  corner  out  right 
over  the  face  of  Dr.  Laws,  who  awoke,  and  hit  at  something, 
which  proved  to  be  a  lion.  Strange  to  relate,  it  went  away 
without  giving  further  annoyance,  and  I  sewed  up  the  rent 
next  day. 

This  is  the  only  instance  I  have  known  of  lions  attacking 
tents  at  night ;  no  matter  how  annoying  their  growls  may  be  in 
its  vicinity,  it  is  generally  considered  quite  safe  to  go  to  sleep. 

The  slaves  captured  by  these  hill-people,  whose  raids  we 
now  stopped,  were  transported  over  the  lake  in  dhows,  and 
news  reached  the  authorities  of  two  which  were  hauled  up 
on  the  sand.  Officers,  with  troops,  steamed  over  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  them ;  but  the  attempt  proved  a 
disastrous  failure.  They  sighted  the  vessels,  and  went  on 
shore  to  burn  them,  when  suddenly  a  heavy  fire  was  poured 
on  them  from  the  bush.  A  trap  had  evidently  been  pre- 
pared as  soon  as  their  approach  was  known. 

The  British  officer  in  charge  attempted  to  swim  back 
with  his  men  to  the  anchored  vessel,  and  almost  succeeded 
in  reaching  a  rope  thrown  to  him,  when  he  sank,  shot  through 
the  head.  The  others  were  rescued,  and  the  anchor  weighed ; 
but  the  rope  thrown  to  the  officer  was  caught  by  the 
propeller,  and  the  engines  stopped.  In  the  confusion  the 
vessel  was  stranded.  This  played  completely  into  the  enemy ""s 
hands,  for  they  kept  up  a  hot  fire,  wounding  several  on 

281 


MURDER  OF  EUROPEANS 


board.  Barricades  were  erected  around  the  bulwarks  as 
cover,  and  from  behind  these  the  fire  was  returned;  but 
the  enemy  increasing  in  numbers  every  hour,  a  protracted 
defence  was  almost  impossible. 

Seeing  that  they  held  the  trump  card,  the  scoundrels 
sent  on  board  a  deputation,  saying  that  they  were  tired  of 
fighting,  and  if  they  were  given  bales  of  calico  they  would 
assist  to  get  the  steamer  off  the  sand.  Catching  at  the 
last  straw,  Captain  Keiter  gave  them  calico,  but  as  soon  as 
this  was  in  the  hands  of  the  people  on  shore  fire  was  at 
once  opened  again  on  the  ship. 

This  went  on  for  hours,  until  the  increasing  number 
of  wounded  made  the  position  seem  hopeless.  A  second 
deputation  was  sent,  asking  that  white  men  should  come  on 
shore  to  settle  the  terms  of  peace,  which  were  to  apply  to 
all  their  country,  as  well  as  to  this  particular  fight. 

They  hesitated,  fearing  treachery,  but  thinking  their  posi- 
tion could  scarcely  be  worse,  and  hoping  to  save  the  situation, 
two  volunteered  to  go.  They  were  led  out  of  sight  of  the 
steamer  and  brutally  murdered  by  the  orders  of  the  chief, 
Saidi  Mwazungu. 

The  attack  was  again  pressed,  during  which  the  captain 
was  wounded  in  the  face.  It  was  now  seen  to  be  a  fight 
to  a  finish ;  but,  nothing  daunted,  the  heroic  captain  fought 
on  with  his  plucky  Sikhs  and  natives.  Under  cover  of  the 
night,  he  sent  the  steamer's  crew  overboard  to  dig  out  the 
sand  around  the  vessel ;  they  toiled  on  until  daybreak,  when 
the  cold  off-shore  wind  increased  in  force  and  blew  the  vessel 
into  deep  water.  Their  joy  can  only  be  faintly  imagined. 
The  whole  affair  was  a  demonstration  of  that  real  grit 
which  has  so  often  been  exhibited  by  Scotsmen  when  in  a 
tight  corner.  Saidi  Mwazungu  scored  for  the  moment,  but 
a  time  was  fast  approaching  when  he  was  to  listen  to  the 
sound  of  cannon,  and  to  hear  his  death  sentence  pronounced 
by  me  in  a  British  Court  of  Justice. 

282 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES 


It  is  pleasant  to  pass  from  war  to  play,  and  the  children 
around  Nyasa  were  just  brimful  of  fun  whenever  the  horrors 
of  war  permitted.  A  favourite  game  of  theirs  was  to  cut 
off  the  end  of  two  gourds,  passing  through  them  a  piece 
of  string  about  ten  yards  in  length,  and  knotting  each  end. 
One  boy  would  sit  behind  a  hut  and  place  the  oval  disc 
to  his  ear;  the  string  was  then  stretched  around  another 
hut,  where  several  boys  would  whisper  into  the  disc  at  the 
other  end,  disguising  their  voices  as  much  as  possible.  The 
listener  had  to  detect  who  spoke,  and  if  he  failed  three 
times  in  succession  he  was  carried  by  all  the  boys  and 
ducked  in  the  lake. 

"  Look  at  those  boys ! "  I  remarked  to  a  companion. 
"  What  would  the  inventor  say  if  he  saw  that  primitive 
telephone  actually  being  used  by  those  youngsters  ? " 

How  few  people  imagine  that  girls  may  be  seen  all  over 
Africa  playing  "  cat"'s-cradle " ;  only  theirs  is  extremely 
complicated,  and  forms  a  series  of  such  beautiful  patterns 
that  I  was  never  able  to  manipulate  more  than  half  of 
them  with  the  bewildering  string.  There  is  nothing  like 
it  in  this  country !  Is  our  simple,  childish  cat's-cradle  a 
fragment,  preserved  through  the  ages,  of  this  Central  African 
pattern  ? 

An  even  more  remarkable  resemblance  to  our  games  was 
noticed.  Two  girls  stood  facing  each  other  with  joined 
hands.  About  a  dozen  girls  walking  in  single  file  approached 
them,  clapping  their  hands  as  an  accompaniment  to  the 
song  the  two  big  girls  were  singing.  Each  girl  passed 
under  the  joined  hands  of  the  two  singers.  On  listening, 
I  heard  these  words : — 

Lions  and  leopards  !    Lions  and  leopards  ! 

Hmiting  at  night. 
Lions  and  leopards  !    Lions  and  leopards  ! 

Catch  the  game ! 

As   the   final   word    was   sung,  the   two    arms  descended 

283 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES 


and  made  some  girl  a  prisoner.  She  was  then  penalised  by 
having  to  stand  and  try  to  catch  some  one  else.  Substitute 
for  their  words  "  Oranges  and  lemons,^"*  and  you  join  again  the 
childhood  of  white  and  black.    When  were  they  separated  ? 

Another  pastime  was  what  I  should  call  "Prisoner's  base"; 
it  would  afford  amusement  to  our  men  and  boys,  as  well  as 
teach  them  to  swim  under  water. 

A  number  of  boys  choose  sides,  and  the  boys  on  one  side 
swim  out  into  the  lake  with  a  prisoner,  who  is  put  in  an 
anchored  canoe.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  other  section  to  release 
the  boy  in  the  canoe,  by  passing  the  defenders  under  water 
and  reaching  the  canoe  before  being  touched  by  an  opponent. 
None  of  the  defenders  are  allowed  to  wait  closer  than  about 
twenty  yards  to  the  canoe ;  it  is  "  off  side.*" 

It  is  very  amusing  to  watch  the  tactics  employed  to 
deceive  the  defenders.  All  the  boys  will  swim  away  in  one 
direction,  pursued  by  the  other  side ;  this  is  done  to  draw- 
away  the  defence,  and  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  occurs  one 
will  sink  and  swim  back,  under  the  pursuers,  rising  in  the 
rear,  and  dashing  for  the  prisoner.  The  game,  with  a  few 
more  additions,  would  make  an  exciting  exhibition  of  good 
swimming  and  generalship  for  English  swimming  clubs. 

Many  an  hour  was  thus  pleasantly  passed  watching  the 
gambols  of  black  children,  especially  in  those  places  where 
we  could  follow  their  conversations,  which  are  brimful  of 
smart  repartee.  The  more  serious  engagements  of  war  and 
administration  were  forgotten  for  a  while,  and  the  mind 
given  a  refreshing  tonic  by  allowing  oneself  to  become  a  boy 
once  more,  and  to  revel  in  mirthful  games. 

That  boys  are  boys  all  the  world  over  is  true,  as  we 
all  know,  and  I  found,  by  entering  into  the  spirit  of  their 
pranks,  that  I  learned  many  interesting  details  of  their  lives, 
and  sometimes  got  to  see  myself  as  they  saw  me. 

For  instance,  one  day,  when  passing  through  the  village, 
I  heard  some  youngsters  laughing  behind  me,  and  on  turn- 

284 


Girls  at  Play 

Pieces  of  stone  are  placed  on  the  ground  ;  the  player  throws  into  the  air  the  round  wild  fruit 
she  is  holding  and  lifts  one  stone,  catching  the  ball  as  it  descends ;  if  she  fails  the  next  player  tries. 
The  game  is  varied  by  placing  the  stones  in  a  hole  and  removing  one  at  a  time. 


Brick  Making 

Girls  are  engaged  by  Europeans  to  make  bricks  ;  they  love  to  knead  the  clay  and  become  very 
smart  at  handling  the  bricks.  They  work  from  6  a.m.  to  about  2  p.m.,  then  go  home  to  pound  up 
maize  for  the  afternoon's  meal. 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES 


ing  suddenly,  saw  a  boy  with  his  hands  placed  edgeways  on 
his  nose.  I  stopped  and  laughed,  so  as  not  to  frighten  them, 
and  sat  down,  calling  them  to  come  and  have  a  yarn.  They 
cautiously  crept  near  me  one  by  one,  and  a  few  pleasant 
jokes  soon  put  them  at  their  ease. 

"Now  then,  boys,  what  was  the  meaning  of  those  two 
hands  placed  edgeways  on  your  face  ?  Was  it  to  represent 
the  bowsprit  on  my  sailing-boat,  or  an  elephant's  tusk?" 

Their  faces  beamed  with  mischief,  but  no  one  replied. 
Don't  be  afraid  !  tell  me.    I  shall  not  be  angry ;  I  want 
to  join  in  the  fun." 

One  of  the  elder  lads  then  said:  "We  meant  no  harm, 
but,  you  see,  your  nose  and  our  noses  are  so  different.  We 
were  showing  how  yours  sticks  out  from  your  face  like  our 
two  hands  on  edge,  and  we  said  that  if  you  ran  quickly 
between  the  huts  it  would  knock  against  the  lower  ridge 
and  turn  you  round." 

The  huts  being  close  together,  and  the  lower  edge  of 
the  slanting  roof  almost  on  a  level  with  a  man's  eyes,  it 
is  easy  to  understand  how  they  pictured  my  nose  colliding 
with  the  poles,  and  the  thought  of  my  being  spun  round 
must  have  presented  a  very  comical  picture  to  them.  I  saw 
the  quite  natural  joke,  and  joined  in  the  laugh,  carrying 
on  the  fun,  thus  : 

"  It  sticks  out,  does  it  ?  Do  you  think,  if  I  put  it  to 
the  ground,  and  you  wound  a  string  around  me  and  pulled 
it,  I  should  spin  round  like  a  top?" 

They  were  down  on  all-fours  immediately,  with  their 
noses  close  to  the  ground,  and  spinning  around  on  a  pivot 
to  show  how  I  should  look.  I  laughed  until  the  tears  made 
it  difficult  to  follow  their  grotesque  antics.  When  they  had 
demonstrated  to  their  satisfaction  that  a  revolving;  white 
man  would  be  no  end  of  fun  to  see,  I  continued :  "  Have 
you  ever  wondered  how  it  is  your  noses  are  so  difterent  to 
mine  ?  " 

287 


ANALYSING  THE  NATIVE  CHARACTER 


"No!"  they  replied. 

"  Don't  you  think  it's  because,  when  you  were  babies, 
your  mother  carried  you  on  her  back,  and  you  pressed  your 
little  noses  against  her,  which  made  them  grow  flat  ?  " 

The  idea  seemed  novel,  so  they  began  pushing  their 
noses  into  each  other's  backs,  to  see  how  it  felt,  I  suppose. 
One  who  thought  he  detected  a  weak  spot  in  the  suggestion 
replied,  "  If  that  flattened  ours,  why  did  it  not  do  so  with 
yours  ? '' 

"Ah!"  I  answered,  "that's  just  it.  My  mother  carried 
me  in  her  arms,  not  on  her  back ! " 

"  How  could  she  do  her  work  and  carry  you  as  well  ? " 
came  a  ready  inquiry. 

"  Look  here,  my  lads  !  I  expect  when  I  was  a  baby  my 
mother  let  my  nose  alone,  but  when  you  were  born,  perhaps 
you  had  no  noses,  and  your  mothers  squeezed  up  a  lump  of 
porridge  and  put  it  on  your  face,  and  then  made  two  holes 
in  it  with  her  fingers,  so  that  you  might  breathe,  but 
forgot  to  make  it  pointed.    Go  and  ask  them  ! " 

I  rose,  and  looking  back  after  going  a  short  distance, 
saw  some  running  about  pretending  to  have  a  gigantic 
proboscis,  whilst  others  were  making  imitations,  in  friendly 
rivalry,  of  the  latest  fashion  introduced  by  the  white  man. 
Always  after  enjoying  these  impromptu  circus  performances, 
I  felt  better  able  to  think  calmly  over  the  more  serious 
problems  arising  on  every  hand.  To  escape  from  one's 
official  trappings,  to  cease  to  be  a  dictator,  chastiser,  and 
representative  of  the  law,  even  for  a  few  moments,  was  not 
only  a  recreation  but  a  real  education.  It  gave  me  oppor- 
tunities of  looking  unobserved  beneath  the  impenetrable 
exterior  of  those  black  races,  and  to  see  many  of  the  inner 
aspects  of  their  character.  I  found  it  profitable  to  make 
the  most  minute  observations,  and  to  note  every  detail  of 
their  actions,  when  for  a  few  seconds  they  showed  me  a 
glimpse  of  their  real  selves.    Many  of  these  true  impressions 

288 


ANALYSING  THE  NATIVE  CHARACTER 


were  invaluable  to  me  afterwards,  when  called  to  investigate 
cases  of  serious  crime  in  our  Courts  of  Justice,  the  decisions 
sometimes  entailing  capital  punishment. 

The  patriarchal  form  of  government  is  sometimes  too 
quickly  superseded  by  English  law,  with  all  its  complicated 
forms.  These  are  quite  beyond  the  understanding  of  a  race 
awakening  from  the  slumber  of  ages. 

What  we  know  to  be  justice  is  to  them,  in  many  instances, 
the  opposite.  Their  tribal  and  social  life,  as  I  understand 
it,  had  been  kept  together,  not  by  Acts  of  Parliament, 
police,  and  magistrates,  but  by  answering  "  Yes "  to  the  old 
inquiry,  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? "  Such  a  thing  as 
individual  responsibility  was  almost  unknown.  Destitute  of 
the  machinery  to  secure  evidence,  or  arrest  offenders  who 
escaped  out  of  tribal  jurisdiction,  they  perforce  maintained 
family  responsibility,  and  this  developed  into  tribal  responsi- 
bility, or,  as  we  should  say,  national.  In  this  manner  half- 
savage  natives  were  held  in  check  by  the  knowledge  that 
there  could  be  no  escape  for  the  family  if  any  member  of 
it  broke  the  tribal  laws  or  customs.  Not  only  did  this  weld 
families  together  in  the  interest  of  peaceful  village  life,  but 
secured  to  each  member  a  corresponding  amount  of  protection 
all  through  life. 

Young  children  were  nurtured  and  taught  to  work  by 
the  parents.  Daughters  married  and  settled  near  their 
parents,  assisted,  guided,  and  protected  by  both  families. 
Old  people,  no  longer  able  to  work  in  the  gardens,  fell  back 
as  children  upon  the  now  efficient  guardianship  of  their 
offspring,  whose  duty  it  became  to  watch  over  the  last 
resting-places  of  father  and  mother. 

When  free  from  the  slave-raider  and  outside  enemies, 
they  lived  a  simple  and  easy  life,  obtaining  from  nature 
everything  necessary  for  natural  requirements  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave;  living  in  houses  built  by  themselves, 
for  which  they  paid  no  rent,  cultivating  in  their  own  gardens 

289 


ANALYSING  THE  NATIVE  CHARACTER 


just  sufficient  for  everyday  life;  laying  up  no  store,  wasting 
nothing,  with  no  "  rainy  day to  dread,  mutual  responsibility 
insuring  mutual  help  and  support.  "  Sufficient  for  the  day 
is  the  evil  thereof,"  was  the  keynote  to  the  whole  of  their 
lives. 

When  such  a  state  of  existence  is  possible  at  the  present 
day  amongst  black  men,  it  will,  I  think,  be  easy  for  my 
readers  to  understand  how  necessary  it  is  to  send  amongst 
them  our  most  able  administrators  and  missionaries,  lest 
they  be  too  suddenly  brought  face  to  face  with  the  tax- 
collector,  the  policeman,  and  a  life  of  severe  competition 
which  will  compel  thousands  of  them  to  labour  from  day- 
light to  dark  for  other  people,  in  order  to  obtain  bread  for 
their  families,  and  possibly  drift  into  the  same  state  as  those 
white  races  who  not  long  since  decided  that  it  was  some  one'*s 
duty  to  care  for  the  aged  population. 


290 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Big-Game  Hunting — A  Wild  Trip  across  Nyasa — An  Eclipse — 
A  Memorable  Interview 

NEWS  of  the  defeat  of  the  white  men  at  Saidi  Mwazungu's 
spread  rapidly,  with  the  usual  result,  that  most  of 
those  who  had  been  sitting  on  the  fence  jumped  down 
on  the  side  of  the  victors.    The  Upper  Shire  River  and 
east  coast  were  practically  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
a  renewal  of  slave  operations  immediately  followed. 

Sultan  Jumbe  reigned  supreme  at  Kotakota,  the  great 
forwarding  depot  from  what  is  now  North-East  Rhodesia, 
but  this  wily  ruler  had  too  many  local  enemies  not  to  see 
that  it  was  the  better  policy  not  to  take  sides  against  the 
British.  His  neutrality  at  this  period  was  most  valuable, 
as,  had  his  forces  been  thrown  into  the  opposite  scale,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  what  might  have  happened. 

Notwithstanding  this  general  disturbance,  big  -  game 
hunters  found  it  possible  to  obtain  good  sport  amongst 
the  elephants  which  frequented  the  dense  underwood  growing 
near  Lake  Nyasa.  One  of  these  hunters,  the  doctor  of  a 
gunboat,  lost  his  life  in  a  battle  with  a  lion.  It  appears 
he  came  upon  the  lion  suddenly,  before  he  had  time  to 
take  a  proper  aim ;  it  charged  him,  and  he  fired  as  it 
sprang  towards  him,  severely  wounding  it  in  the  chest,  but 
not  sufficiently  to  stop  its  charge.  The  boys  said  the  lion 
bit  him,  breaking  his  left  arm.  It  then  left  him  and  moved 
away  to  some  low  bushes,  and  the  doctor,  upon  this,  called 
his  boy,  made  him  lie  down,  and  laying  his  rifle  on  his 
back,  fired  with  one  arm  and  killed  the  lion,  falling  exhausted 
at  the  same  moment  from  the  loss  of  blood.    They  carried 

291 


BIG-GAME  HUNTING 


him  to  the  lake  shore,  but  he  died  before  the  gunboat 
arrived. 

The  last  time  we  had  dined  together  he  was  full  of  ambi- 
tion to  shoot  a  lion,  and  I  believe  this  was  his  first  oppor- 
tunity. His  fatal  adventure  was  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
success  of  another  naval  officer,  w^ho  bagged  no  less  than 
five  lions  at  one  spot  near  Chiromo,  as  they  were  feeding  on 
a  dead  water-buck.    It  was  the  record  bag  for  Nyasaland. 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  fascination  about  big-game  hunt- 
ing which  deadens  the  senses  to  danger.  To  follow  the  foot- 
prints of  a  bull  elephant  through  high  bango  reeds  or  dense 
jungle,  not  knowing  at  what  moment  you  may  discover  him 
within  a  few  yards,  seems  idiotic  when  one  coolly  remembers 
its  power,  and  its  ability  to  move  with  rapidity  through 
bush  which  is  impassable  to'  you.  But  when  you  are  actually 
wading  through  water  and  mud,  or  slowly  struggling  through 
reeds  ten  feet  high,  all  sense  of  real  danger  is  absent.  There 
is  always  the  feeling  that  you  hold  in  your  hand  a  weapon 
with  which  you  can  kill  or  stop  your  quarry.  In  most  cases 
this  is  what  takes  place,  but  at  times  the  elephant  scores,  as 
the  following  incident  shows. 

A  young  assistant  magistrate  named  Johnstone,  fresh  from 
home,  was  sent  to  assist  me  in  the  administration  of  the 
Marimba  district.  We  were  compelled  to  live  in  a  most 
unhealthy  station,  on  account  of  the  large  population  of  semi- 
Arabs  who  lived  under  Sultan  Jumbe.  Johnstone  soon  con- 
tracted malarial  fever.  As  he  failed  to  shake  it  off,  I  sent 
him  up  to  the  hills  for  change  of  air.  He  had  only  been 
gone  a  day,  when  one  of  his  men  came  to  my  house  carr3dng 
his  master's  helmet,  more  or  less  damaged  and  dirty.  I 
saw  something  had  happened,  and  not  wishing  to  frighten 
him,  I  continued  my  lunch,  saying  unconcernedly : 

"  W ell  ?    Master  tumbled  into  the  river  Bua  and  wants 

another  helmet,  I  suppose  .P"" 

"  No,  sir  !    Njovu  ! (Elephant !) 

292 


BIG-GAME  HUNTING 


"  Is  the  elephant  dead  ?  " 
"  No,  sir  !  " 

"  Is  your  master  coming  along  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  l?ut  he  won't  speak  ;  he  is  in  his  hammock." 

It  took  but  a  few  moments  to  procure  brandy,  eggs,  and 
milk,  and  I  was  off  to  his  help,  knowing  that  if  alive  he 
must  need  some  stimulant. 

I  met  him  about  eight  miles  from  home  ;  he  was  quite 
insensible,  but  alive,  with  a  good  strong  pulse.  Both  eyes 
were  black  and  swollen  ;  his  face  looked  as  if  he  had  been 
drawn  along  a  gravel  path ;  one  arm  and  leg  seemed  broken. 
He  lay  all  of  a  heap,  but  there  was  no  loss  of  blood.  We 
tied  the  pole  of  the  hammock  to  trees,  so  as  not  to  disturb 
any  broken  bones  by  laying  him  on  the  ground.  We  washed 
the  mud  off  his  face  and  out  of  his  mouth,  pouring  in  weak 
brandy  and  water,  which,  to  my  great  relief,  he  swallowed; 
but  he  did  not  open  his  eyes  or  speak.  We  beat  up  some 
eggs  in  milk,  adding  a  few  drops  of  brandy  ;  this  he  also 
swallowed,  and  gave  a  deep  sigh.  Having  kept  the  flame 
burning,  we  made  for  home.  Besides  myself  our  company 
included  but  two  Europeans,  a  trader  and  a  missionary  ;  no 
doctor. 

One  arm  and  leg  were  broken,  and  concussion  of  the  brain 
seemed  certain.  That  the  case  was  beyond  me  I  at  once 
realised,  and  felt  that  to  keep  him  for  days  before  a  doctor 
could  arrive  was  not  giving  him  a  chance.  To  a  doctor 
he  had  to  go  by  some  road  or  other.  There  was  a  trained 
nurse  at  Likoma  Island,  eighty  miles  distant  across  the  lake; 
of  her  splendid  abilities  I  knew ;  should  I  risk  such  a  voyage 
in  the  small  open  boat  offered  by  the  trader  ? 

It  was  then  7  p.m.,  and  dark.  A  strong  south-east 
monsoon  was  blowing ;  the  waves  were  really  too  high  for 
such  a  small  craft,  but  it  was  a  chance^  so  I  gave  it  him. 

We  put  him  on  a  native  bedstead,  and  lashed  it  under- 
neath the  thwarts  of  the  boat,  covered  by  waterproof  sheets 

295 


A  DANGEROUS  VOYAGE 


to  protect  him  from  the  spray.  A  drink  of  hot  chicken 
broth  as  a  night-cap  made  him  safe  from  starvation  during 
the  passage,  so  we  set  sail  about  8  p.m.,  the  trader  offering 
to  go  with  us  and  attend  to  Johnstone  whilst  I  navigated. 

I  have  no  desire  to  exaggerate  that  yachting  experience, 
but  any  one  who  can  picture  a  dark  night,  strong  wind, 
choppy,  breaking  waves,  open  boat,  unconscious  companion 
under  the  thwarts,  native  crew,  and  eighty-mile  trip,  will 
understand  it  was  scarcely  a  picnic. 

My  foreign  companion  soon  experienced  mal-de-iner ; 
this  brought  on  fever,  which  he  bravely  attempted  to  shake 
off,  but  the  repeated  doses  of  spray  thrown  over  us  all  by 
the  high  wind  was  unbearable  to  his  already  shivering  frame, 
and  he  said  :  "  Johnstone's  all  right ;  I  must  lie  down  under 
shelter.    May  I  cover  myself  with  your  cork  mattress  ?  " 

"  All  right !  "  I  shouted  ;  "  have  a  sleep." 

Our  rotten  mainsail  split  from  the  foot  upwards,  and  the 
pieces  had  to  be  lowered.  I  gave  the  helm  to  a  native,  and 
jumping  forward,  tied  the  jib  into  a  knot  which  made  it 
into  a  kind  of  balloon  ;  this  was  the  only  safe  sail  to  run 
under  m  ith  a  heavy  folio v.  ing  sea  and  fair  wind. 

Other  exciting  events  were  experienced  before  morning, 
but  of  too  personal  a  character  for  narration  by  the  writer ; 
sufficient  to  say  that  a  previous  ten  years  in  the  mercantile 
marine  from  boy  to  first  officer  had  not  impressed  on  me  the 
value  of  daylight  so  much  as  that  wild  trip  across  Nyasa. 

In  the  early  morning  we  reached  Likoma  Island,  soak- 
ing wet  and  done  up.  Johnstone  was  alive,  but  blissfully 
ignorant  of  everything.  Miss  Rees  (now  Mrs.  Wieble),  of 
the  Universities  Mission,  at  once  came  to  the  rescue. 

"  W ell,  nurse,  what"'s  the  damage  ? I  asked,  after  she 
had  examined  him. 

"  Broken  arm  and  leg,  high  up.  Severe  brain  shock. 
Nothing  seriously  wrong  internally.  Good  thing  you  brought 
him  ;  he  may  recover  !  " 

296 


AN  ECLIPSE 


That  was  the  right  kind  of  woman  for  pioneers  to  meet ; 
she  possessed  ability,  common  sense,  courage.  Empires  cannot 
be  built  without  the  help  of  such  women  !  She  told  me 
afterwards  Johnstone  was  unconscious  for  about  two  weeks 
from  the  time  of  his  accident.  If,  reader,  you  are  wonder- 
ing whether  he  ever  recovered,  I  can  assure  you  he  did,  for 
at  this  moment  he  is  H.M.  representative  not  a  hundred 
miles  from  Morocco. 

The  grand  woman  who  saved  his  life  is  now  saving  others 
in  her  well-known  West  End  establishment.  Johnstone  never 
knew  how  it  all  happened.  His  men  said  the  elephant 
struck  him  with  his  trunk,  then  rushed  at  a  policeman  and 
threw  him  into  the  grass  where  he  described  himself  as 
"  sleeping.""  In  this  case  the  elephant  scored,  and  the  know- 
ledge of  these  possibilities  makes  its  pursuit  exciting. 

Soon  after  our  return  from  Likoma  there  was  a  total 
eclipse  of  the  moon.  The  people  paraded  the  town,  beating 
hoes  and  firing  guns.  When  we  asked  the  reason  of  these 
demonstrations,  they  replied :  "  The  moon  and  Shetani " 
(Satan)  "  are  wrestling ;  he  wants  to  take  away  our  moon,  so 
that  we  may  always  remain  in  the  dark."'  Africans  value 
the  moon  much  more  than  we  do,  for  they  are  very  much 
afraid  of  the  dark.  The  birth  of  every  moon  is  welcomed 
with  shouts  of  joy,  as  it  is  at  once  their  calendar  and  village 
lamp. 

"  Don't  make  so  much  noise  about  it,"  I  said,  "  for  the 
devil  will  go  to  bed  hungry ;  he  will  not  eat  the  moon ; 
it  will  shine  again.  You  don't  cry  when  the  sun  goes  to 
sleep  every  evening — why  not  ?  " 

Because  it  comes  up  again  in  the  morning ! they  replied. 

I  saw  my  opportunity  to  find  out  what  they  thought  of 
the  sun's  movements  ;  hence  my  question. 

"  How  is  it  we  see  it  disappear  behind  those  hills  in  the 
evening  and  rise  up  the  other  side  again  ?  How  does  it  get 
there.?"' 

297  a 


NATIVE  PHILOSOPHY 


"  Goes  back  at  night,  sir." 

"  Does  it  ?  Many  of  you  are  fishermen ;  have  you  ever 
noticed  it  go  back  when  you  were  out  on  the  lake  at 
night?" 

This  appeared  to  puzzle  them,  as  no  one  answered. 

"  Cannot  one  of  you  suggest  some  reason  ?  Is  there 
another  road  underneath  ?  " 

A  sudden  thought  seemed  to  strike  one,  as  he  eagerly 
exclaimed :  "  I  know  !  there  is  an  olendo  of  suns — we  see  a 
different  one  every  day ! "  ("  Olendo "  is  the  name  given  to 
a  number  of  travellers  walking  in  single  file.) 

I  let  the  matter  rest  at  that ;  the  phenomenon  had  never 
really  given  those  particular  men  a  serious  thought,  but  the 
hasty  conclusion  was  not  a  bad  attempt  to  solve  the  problem 
with  only  the  aid  of  his  everyday  experience  as  a  guide. 

Being  in  an  inquisitive  mood,  I  descended  to  terrestrial 
problems  by  asking : 

"Will  you  tell  me  how  it  is  the  male  fowl  knows  when 
it  is  nearly  daylight  ?  He  is  in  the  dark  and  cannot  see  the 
stars,  or  they  might  tell  him." 

One  man  replied :  "  He  crows  to  warn  the  hippopotamus 
it's  time  to  clear  out  of  the  gardens  into  the  lake." 

"  That  may  be,"  I  replied,  "  but  how  does  he  know  when 
to  crow  ?  " 

Then  followed  a  really  ingenious  explanation,  and  perhaps 
original,  for  I  have  never  heard  it  before. 

"  It's  like  this,  master.  During  the  day  the  fowl  eats  all 
kinds  of  food,  and  also  picks  up  little  stones ;  these  are  heavy 
and  sink  down  below  the  food  in  its  crop.  The  food  is  gradu- 
ally eaten  again  at  night,  like  the  cows  do,  and  this  work 
takes  up  most  of  the  night.  When  all  the  food  is  chewed  up 
it  gets  to  the  stones,  and  as  these  come  into  its  throat  they 
nearly  choke  it,  so  it  coughs  the  stones  up.  This  effort  wakes 
it,  and  then  it  goes  on  crowing  to  exasperate  the  other  male 
birds." 

298 


NATIVE  PHILOSOPHY 


Whenever  I  now  hear  that  familiar  morning  salute,  I  in- 
variably say :  "  That  chap's  down  to  bedrock,"  and  inwardly 
smile  at  the  quaint  explanation  of  the  coloured  man. 

At  Kotakota  we  were  much  troubled  with  lions ;  one 
in  particular  attacked  the  labourers  on  a  coffee  plantation, 
taking  away  three  men  and  mauling  a  fourth. 

It  was  noticed  that  he  only  left  three  footprints  on  the 
soft  ground.  During  his  last  visit  he  broke  into  a  hut  where 
a  number  of  young  girls  were  sleeping  and  killed  one ;  their 
shrieks  scared  him  away  for  a  time,  but  he  shortly  returned 
and  killed  another  girl,  but,  strange  to  say,  carried  neither 
body  away.  The  men  then  mustered  up  courage  and  went  to 
the  assistance  of  the  other  girls.  Both  of  the  dead  children 
were  brought  to  our  fort;  their  necks  were  nearly  bitten 
through  and  broken. 

All  efforts  to  get  at  the  brute  failed ;  he  would  not  be 
drawn  from  the  rocks  and  dense  bush  where  he  bad  hidden, 
so  we  set  gun-traps  in  the  cattle-shed.  This  was  more  suc- 
cessful, as  the  first  night  we  bagged  a  leopard,  and  the  second 
his  lordship.  He  was  a  full-grown  old  male,  with  broken 
teeth,  and,  what  was  interesting,  one  of  his  paws  was  much 
swollen  and  full  of  pus.  On  examination  we  extracted  broken 
fragments  of  porcupine  quills,  and  this  gave  the  clue  to  the 
mysterious  marks  on  the  ground.  He  had  received  more 
than  he  bargained  for  with  the  porcupine,  and,  unable  to  pull 
out  the  broken  quills,  was  quite  disabled  from  catching  game. 
Hence  he  became  a  man-eater. 

As  a  rule  lions  do  not  interfere  with  people  where  game 
is  plentiful,  and  in  many  districts  its  roar  is  heard  every 
night.  One  followed  a  mail  man,  but  he  escaped  up  a  tree 
and  watched  it  tear  to  pieces  the  mail-bag,  which  happened 
to  contain  a  presentation  copy  of  a  novel  sent  by  the  author 
to  her  brother  at  our  fort.  Through  this  book  he  bit  furi- 
ously, and  my  colleague  said  he  should  return  it  to  his  sister 
to  keep  as  an  illustration  of  the  savage  reception  her  literary 

299 


STIRRING  EVENTS 


efforts  met  with  in  the  tropics.  Doubtless  the  author  values 
that  copy  above  all  others. 

About  this  time  each  day  was  full  of  stirring  events  all 
over  the  Protectorate.  Saidi  Mwazungu  and  Makanjira  became 
more  bold  in  their  raids  after  our  defeat.  Zarafi,  perched 
on  a  mountain,  commanded  the  Upper  Shire  River  and  defied 
the  British  to  do  their  worst.  INilozi,  at  the  north  end,  openly 
declared  himself  ready  to  fight  it  out.  Mwasi,  westwards, 
denied  us  a  free  passage  to  his  country,  and  it  was  becoming 
too  warm  to  be  pleasant  for  the  small  British  forces;  but 
Johnston  never  looked  back,  as  he  was  loyally  served  by  his 
stafi*,  who  responded  to  his  words  of  appreciation  of  the 
slightest  service  rendered.  I  fancy  that  was  one  of  the  secrets 
of  his  success  in  opening  up  new  countries ;  he  trusted  his  men, 
and  let  them  know  of  his  pleasure  whenever  good  work  was 
done.    Good  men  will  do  anything  for  such  a  leader. 

One  of  the  Universities  missionaries  was  murdered  by 
the  Northern  Angoni,  but  this  was  proved  to  have  been 
the  result  of  a  mistake,  and  not  a  tribal  plot;  but  it  at 
least  showed  the  grass  was  ready  for  burning,  as  natives 
would  say.  The  temporary  defeat  of  a  handful  of  men 
only  tended  to  rally  the  spirits  of  those  left  in  the  field. 
A  determined  attack  was  made  on  Saidi  Mwazungu  and 
Makanjira;  severe  engagements  were  fought,  the  result  at 
times  hanging  in  the  balance;  finally,  however,  victory  was 
won,  both  scoundrels  thoroughly  routed  from  the  lake  shore, 
and  a  fort  erected  near  to  the  very  spot  where  the  brutal 
murders  had  taken  place.  The  villains  fled  to  the  mountains, 
and  gave  a  lot  of  trouble;  so  our  native  and  Indian  troops 
were  sent  at  them  again.  They  stormed  the  rocky  heights 
in  grand  fashion,  completely  smashing  up  the  enemy  once 
for  all  in  that  region.  Saidi  Mwazungu  fled  to  the  Marimba 
district,  where  he  was  to  account  later  on  for  his  foul 
treachery. 

From  the  command  of  Fort  Maguire,  I  was  transferred 

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to  the  late  Sultan  Jumbe's  town,  a  hotbed  of  semi- Arab 
intrigue;  but  no  armed  opposition  was  encountered.  They 
delighted  in  the  most  subtle  dealings,  keeping  just  outside 
the  law,  which  is  far  more  annoying  than  open  warfare. 

Saidi  Mwazungu  lived  in  the  hills  at  the  back  of  my 
residence,  and  incited  the  people  to  open  rebellion.  Our 
people  dared  not  travel  westward,  and  the  road  was  closed 
to  Mpezenis  and  the  Luapula  River,  and  there  was  material 
enough  on  every  hand  for  a  general  conflagration.  Msaka- 
mbewa  and  D'zeoli  were  constantly  at  war,  so  I  paid  D'zeoli 
a  visit,  taking  w^ith  me  150  natives  armed  with  muzzle- 
loading  rifles.  When  I  approached  D"*zeoli's  village,  he  sent 
peremptorily  ordering  me  to  camp  where  I  stood,  as  he  was 
busy  drinking  beer. 

I  objected,  saying:  ''Go  and  tell  your  chief  I  do  not 
receive  orders — I  give  them ;  and  to-night  I  sleep  in  camp 
near  his  town ;  to-morrow  I  call  on  him,  to  transact  business." 

It  was  not  bluft'  on  their  part,  but  simple  suspicion  and 
fear.  I  found  him  quite  a  decent  man,  and  had  pleasant 
relations  with  him  for  several  years  afterwards.  He  was 
abnormally  fat,  having  to  sit  on  the  ground  with  his  legs 
in  a  small  hole.  After  somewhat  more  than  the  usual  native 
fencing  before  talking  business,  he  said  at  last :  "  If  you  are 
my  chief,  go  and  stop  that  Angoni  Msakambewa  who  is 
eating  up  my  people ;  their  spears  are  never  dry ! " 

"  Certainly  I  will,"  I  replied,  '*  if  you  will  send  with  me 
some  real  good  talkers  to  state  your  case,  as  they  are  orators 
as  well  as  warriors." 

Leaving  my  force  in  camp  at  the  base  of  the  plateau,  I 
took  five  native  police  with  D'zeoli's  head-men,  and  went  up 
to  see  the  much-dreaded  Msakambewa,  sending  in  advance 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Blake,  the  Dutch  missionary,  asking  him  to 
act  as  interpreter,  and  to  advise  the  Angoni  of  our  visit. 
This  he  arranged  most  satisfactorily. 

It  was  the  first  Angoni  indaba  I  had  attended.  The 

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A  MEMORABLE  INTERVIEW 


young  warriors  came  fully  armed,  and  when  the  old  chief 
appeared,  saluted  him  by  rattling  their  "cowhide"  shields 
and  spears  and  enumerating  all  his  marvellous  names.  He 
wore  a  head-dress,  and  condescended  to  give  me  a  most 
dignified  glance,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  The  great  Msakambewa 
has  arrived  ! " 

Mr.  Blake  carried  on  all  the  conversation  for  me,  as  I 
did  not  know  their  language;  and,  but  for  his  assistance, 
the  indaba  could  not  have  been  successful. 

"  Let  the  white  man  speak ;  the  Angoni's  ears  are  open," 
were  the  opening  sentences  which  fell  from  the  chief  as  he 
squatted  on  a  mat. 

I  chafed  at  the  warlike  reception  with  bristling  assegais, 
and  determined  to  administer  a  reproof  at  once,  as  he  had 
been  informed  that  my  soldiers  were  left  twenty  miles  away. 
"  I  am  glad  to  meet  the  great  Msakambewa  and  to  know 
the  Angoni's  ears  are  open,  but  I  did  not  imagine  such 
clever  people  thought  they  could  catch  my  words  on  the 
points  of  their  spears,  as  they  catch  an  enemy.  Words  are 
like  the  wind,  and  only  children  could  conceive  it  possible 
to  imprison  them.  I  left  our  spears  at  rest  in  camp ;  they 
are  only  for  the  eyes  of  the  King"*s  enemies,  not  for  his 
friends.  But  perhaps  it  was  your  intention  to  prevent  any 
of  my  words  from  escaping,  and  if  that  is  your  intention 
you  had  good  reason  to  come  armed.  Otherwise  it  was  a 
mistake." 

This  let  them  down  easily,  but  it  was  undoubtedly  an 
initial  score  for  our  side.  We  showed  them  that  the  back 
seat  must  find  some  other  occupant. 

I  then  called  a  head-man  to  state  the  case  of  D'zeoli, 
which  he  did  with  commendable  ability.  I  watched  Msaka- 
mbewa's  face,  but  it  was  sphinx-like. 

"  Your  man  has  uttered  a  fairly  damaging  indictment,"  said 

Blake.    The  chief  took  a  pinch  of  snufl*  and  looked  towards 

his  orator,  who  stepped  into  the  clear  space  and  replied : 

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A  MEMORABLE  INTERVIEW 


"  If  I  heard  correctly,  you  said — "  so  and  so,  rapidly  rnn- 
ning  over  all  the  previous  speaker's  points.  Then  he  unrolled 
a  tornado  of  words,  accompanied  by  expressive  gestures, 
which  held  the  whole  assembly  spell-bound.  I  would  have 
given  much  to  have  understood  his  graphic  language. 

That  he  was  hitting  the  mark  was  obvious ;  my  people  sat 
cringing  and  afraid.  Finally,  as  the  man  drew  near  the  end 
of  his  peroration,  he  suddenly  turned  towards  the  last  speaker 
and  paused.  It  was  one  of  those  eloquent  pauses  we  know  so 
well.  Stretching  out  both  hands  to  his  opponent,  he  shouted  : 
"  Was  not  that  great  raid  on  our  villages  led  by  you?  you? 
youV 

As  he  sat  down  every  warrior  sprang  to  his  feet,  shook  his 
shield  and  spear  in  defiance,  and  shouted  :  "  Yes  !  You  !  you  ! 
you!'' 

It  was  now  time  to  put  on  the  brake,  as  it  was  apparent 
that  there  were  grave  faults  on  both  sides,  and  they  were 
getting  too  excited. 

"Has  the  white  man  heard  our  words.?"  asked  Msaka- 
mbewa. 

"  Yes,  I  have  !  I  do  not  require  a  lot  of  dancing  men  with 
spears  to  help  me  hear ;  it  is  not  the  custom  of  white  chiefs. 
You  have  both  been  guiity  in  the  past.  I  have  not  come  to 
decide  on  what  has  passed,  but  to  tell  both  of  you  that  it  must 
now  stop,  and  whoever  disobeys  will  be  punished  by  our  troops. 
To-day  the  past  dies.    Do  you  both  agree  .f^" 

After  some  hesitation  they  assented,  and  I  said : 
Msakambewa  will  then  break  his  spear,  to  show  his  people 
that  his  words  were  not  wind,  and  that  war  in  his  heart  is 
dead." 

"  No  !  "  he  replied.  "  Msakambewa  cannot  break  Chiwere's 
spear ;  he  is  the  great  Angoni  chief." 

This  I  knew  was  true,  but  at  the  same  time  was  used  by 
him  to  escape  from  his  promise.  I  did  not  intend  him  to  get 
off  so  easily,  so,  rising,  I  said  :  "  Come  along,  Blake !  Please 

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A  MEMORABLE  INTERVIEW 


tell  him  I  am  sorry  to  have  wasted  your  time;  I  thought  I 
was  speaking  to  a  chief.''  I  knew  this  exposure  of  his  limited 
authority,  before  all  his  people,  would  cut  him  deeply ;  and  it 
did,  for,  raising  his  voice  and  looking  to  his  men,  he  asked : 

"  Am  I  not  the  great  Msakambewa  ?  " 

"You  are  truly  our  chief,"  they  shouted. 

Seizing  the  favourable  opportunity,  I  quickly  answered : 
"  You  are  not  the  chief  of  all  the  Angoni,  and  cannot  break 
the  tribal  spear ;  I  did  not  ask  you  to  do  that,  but  to  break 
your  own,  I  will  not  now  accept  the  pieces;  my  King  only 
accepts  a  chiefs  spear,  not  a  head-man's.  Exchange  snufF  and 
salt  with  my  people,  and  that  will  be  quite  sufficient." 

This  was  done,  and  that  evening|he  sent  me  the  only  bull  in 
his  private  herd  (so  Blake  told  me),  and  his  son  was  sent  back 
under  my  escort  to  sleep  in  the  enemy's  country.  There  was 
great  rejoicing  all  over  the  country  at  the  news  of  the  assegais 
being  buried.  People  who  for  years  had  been  obliged  to  live 
in  rocky  mountains,  descended  to  the  fertile  plains,  stockades 
only  existed  to  keep  out  lions,  and  from  that  day  to  this  the 
oaths  sealed  with  snuff,  salt,  and  palaver  have  not  been 
broken. 

The  day  is  still  remembered  by  Blake  and  the  people  as  a 
red-letter  day  in  the  histor}-  of  this  country.  Msakambewa 
is  now  very  old  and  left  far  behind  by  his  young  people, 
who  have  long  had  peace,  and  have  profited  by  the  industrial 
and  educational  institutions  established  in  their  midst  by  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church. 

Descending  to  the  lake  again  after  this  most  interesting 
interview,  we  slept  near  a  swift -running  river  swollen  with  the 
first  rains.  I  found  the  people  greatly  excited,  catching  an 
enormous  quantity  of  fish,  which  were  swarming  up  the  river  to 
spawn.  Fish-baskets,  made  out  of  strong  reeds,  were  fastened 
to  a  strong  dam  built  across  the  stream.  They  became  full  of 
fish  in  a  few  moments.    Boys  took  off  their  clothes  and  made 

miniature  nets,  dragging  scores  of  fish  on  shore  about  the  size 

304 


SHOOTING  ELEPHANTS 


of  mackerel.  The  next  morning  the  reeds  were  full  of  dying 
fish ;  others  were  floating  down  stream  with  their  mouths  above 
water,  apparently  exhausted.  When  asked  why  they  died  up- 
stream, the  people  replied  :  "  Because  there  are  too  many  of 
them  ;  they  starve — there  is  no  food."  Others  said  it  was  on 
account  of  the  water  up-stream  being  brackish.  This  spawning 
takes  place  annually,  but  no  two  rivers  are  used  by  the  same 
species  of  fish;  each  stream  has  its  particular  species  which 
uses  it  for  spawning.  All  leave  their  work  to  engage  in  this 
annual  fish  feast.  They  cut  the  fish  open  down  the  back  and 
dry  them,  and  store  them  away  for  the  rainy  season,  many 
being  transported  to  other  districts. 

In  order  to  get  away  from  this  African  Billingsgate,  I  strolled 
into  dense  country,  and  struck  fresh  elephant  spoor.  Out  of 
curiosity  I  followed  it,  soon  overtaking  two  bulls,  standing 
waving  their  enormous  ears  to  keep  away  the  small  flies  from 
their  eyes.  I  had  never  fired  at  an  elephant,  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  game,  except  that  it  was  risky  to  amateurs;  but  the 
temptation  was  too  great. 

"  Get  closer,  master,"  one  of  my  men  whispered. 

I  felt  already  uncomfortably  close — about  forty  yards — but 
mustered  up  courage  and  advanced  to  about  twenty-five  yards. 
They  seemed  to  be  watching  me. 

"  They  cannot  see  very  well  in  the  daytime,  master ;  they 
sleep." 

"  Oh  !  do  they  ?  "  I  thought,  but  did  not  reply  ;  the  subject- 
matter  under  discussion  was  too  adjacent,  and  not  another 
yard  would  I  approach. 

They  were  facing  us,  looking  quietly  wicked,  capable  of 
anything,  from  crushing  the  life  out  of  me  to  hurling  down 
the  nearest  tree,  so,  resting  my  rifle  on  a  branch,  I  fired,  and 
down  went  the  nearest  bull.  His  chum  threw  up  his  trunk  to 
ascertain  the  direction  from  which  the  attack  came,  and  as  he 
did  so  I  hit  him  somewhere  in  the  ear,  and  he  rushed  past  us, 
receiving  several  more  shots.    The  fallen  animal  only  had  one 

807 


SHOOTING  ELEPHANTS 


tusk,  and  the  other  I  bagged  a  week  after  in  the  reeds,  where 
he  lay  up  badly  wounded.  As  I  sat  on  the  carcase  of  my 
second  elephant,  news  reached  me  of  the  commencement  of  the 
great  attack  on  Mlozi  at  Karonga,  and  I  travelled  home  as 
soon  as  possible,  feeling  little  doubt  that  my  rifle  might  soon 
be  wanted  in  other  directions. 


308 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


Bishop  Maples — Capture  of  Mwasi's  Stronghold — Infantile 
Mortality 

OUR  return  home  was  none  too  soon,  for  mission  boys  in 
an  exhausted  condition  arrived  with  the  sacramental 
vessels  of  Bishop  Maples.    Laying  them  at  my  feet, 
they  burst   into   tears,    crying  :   "  Baba !    Baba !  Askofu ! 
(Father!  Bishop!) 

"  Where  is  he?''  I  asked. 

"  Drowned  with  Padre  Williams  in  the  lake,  sir  !  " 

It  was  a  great  shock  to  me,  for  I  had  known  Maples  for 
years  as  one  of  the  most  able  and  progressive  missionaries  in 
Nyasaland.  I  was  impatient  with  their  tantalising  delay  in 
telling  me  more,  and  cried,  "Where — when — how?"  Then 
follow  ed  a  description  of  how  they  started  from  the  south  with 
a  strong  fair  wind  at  night.  A  naval  officer  warned  them  not 
to  attempt  such  a  dangerous  passage  whilst  the  wind  was  so 
strong,  but  the  Bishop  was  anxious  to  get  to  his  station.  As 
they  made  their  way  up  the  lake,  every  mile  exposed  them  to 
heavier  seas,  and  the  native  captain  begged  to  be  allowed  to  run 
for  shelter;  but  to  this  the  Bishop  would  not  consent.  They 
ran  on  under  a  mizen  and  mainsail,  when  suddenly,  out  of  the 
darkness,  high  rocks  appeared  right  ahead.  Every  seaman 
knows  what  happened.  The  helm  was  suddenly  jammed  hard 
alee,  the  mizen  caught  the  full  weight  of  the  wind,  and,  as 
she  broached  to,  the  next  following  sea  capsized  her  and  threw 
them  into  the  lake.  Williams  was  asleep  in  a  small  cabin  and 
sank  with  the  boat.  The  captain,  in  his  evidence  before  me  at 
the  inquest  over  the  Bishop's  body,  which  was  found  some  days 
subsequently,  said : 

309 


BISHOP  MAPLES 


"  After  the  boat  capsized  the  Bishop  scrambled  on  to  a  tin 
box,  but  it  filled  and  sank.  We  begged  him  to  remove  his 
cassock,  but  he  refused,  saying,  '  Never  mind  me ;  I  feel  my 
hour  to  die  has  come,  you  swim  on  shore  and  tell  the  Europeans 
of  our  death."*    His  cassock  filled  with  water  and  he  sank/' 

What  a  tragic  ending  to  a  splendid  life  devoted  to  the 
good  of  Africans !  I  could  not  help  recalling  that  wild  night 
on  Tanganyika,  when  the  squall  struck  us  and,  momentarily 
blinded  by  lightning,  we  were  hurled  in  a  similar  manner  into 
the  waves.  But  I  was  not  encumbered  with  a  cassock ;  other- 
wise this  would  never  have  been  written. 

The  mission  boys  all  swam  on  shore,  one  actually  having 
the  presence  of  mind  to  save  the  sacred  vessels.  I  think  that 
act  illuminated  this  dark  page  in  the  history  of  missions.  In 
a  howling  wind,  amongst  heavy  breakers,  on  a  dark  night, 
whilst  swimming  for  his  life,  a  black  boy  added  to  the  dangers 
which  threatened  him  by  voluntarily  conveying  to  the  dan- 
gerous rocks  things  sacred  to  a  white  man,  whom  he  knew 
he  would  never  meet  again. 

The  Bishop  lies  buried  behind  the  altar  of  a  fine  stone 
church,  erected,  under  the  supervision  of  Europeans,  by  native 
converts  at  Kotakota.  It  was  here  that  Arthur  Eraser  Simm 
lost  his  life,  whilst  establishing  the  Universities  Mission  in  the 
midst  of  a  Mohammedan  population.  For  a  long  time  he 
was  my  only  companion,  both  Government  and  Mission  staff 
being  much  too  small  for  the  work  that  each  had  to  do.  It 
would  have  done  some  people  good  to  have  seen  that  cultured 
university  scholar  cheerfully  living  in  a  small  mud  hut  and 
teaching  dirty  black  men  and  women  to  manipulate  clay  for 
brick-making,  or  making  with  bits  of  glittering  quartz  a  simple 
decoration  for  the  mud  walls  of  his  first  church.  In  the 
evenings  we  compared  notes,  and  endeavoured  to  cheer  one 
another  up  by  relating  the  small  achievements  of  the  day — so 
many  bricks  made,  perhaps,  or  so  much  grass  cut  for  thatching, 
&c.    Here  we  were  serving  Church  and  State,  without  any  of 

310 


FALL  OF  MLOZI 


the  pomp  and  show  of  either,  deep  down  at  the  foundations  of 
empire,  comrades  and  chums — but  I  lost  him ! 

It  was  our  fate  to  be  stationed  at  what  our  medical  men 
have  described  as  the  most  unhealthy  place  in  Nyasaland. 
Fever  carried  him  oif  in  the  prime  of  life.  For  four  days  and 
nights  I  attended  him  without  avail.  On  the  fifth  he  beckoned 
to  me  and  whispered,  "  Good-bye  !  Wash  my  feet.  Others 
will  come ! and  he  was  gone — nearly  taking  me  with  him, 
for  a  severe  attack  of  fever  followed  the  prolonged  vigil  which 
had  ended  in  failure. 

Taking  advantage  of  my  illness,  Saidi  Mwazungu  and 
Chabisa  made  things  lively  by  attacking  some  of  my  outlying 
villages.  A  demand  was  sent  that  they  should  desist  from 
these  outrages  and  deliver  up  to  me  the  murderer  of  white 
men  under  a  flag  of  truce.  To  this  they  insolently  replied, 
"  Come  and  take  him,  if  you  want  him." 

Matters  became  so  bad  that,  in  order  to  open  up  the 
country  westwards  towards  North-East  Rhodesia,  Mwasi  must 
evidently  be  put  down,  so  I  sent  to  headquarters  for  asvsistance 
and  permission  to  clear  him  out  of  the  path.  Johnston  was 
then  busy  with  his  great  task  of  opening  up  the  northern 
road  to  Cairo  by  breaking  up  the  Arabs  at  North  Nyasa,  so 
I  had  to  wait. 

It  was  just  a  repetition  of  Rumaliza  and  the  Belgians  on 
Tanganyika.  The  champions  of  freedom  were  at  death-grips 
with  slavers  of  the  most  ruthless  type.  The  fierce  onslaught 
of  our  Indian  troops  was  met  with  a  stubborn  defence  worthy 
of  a  better  cause;  for  these  people  fight  like  demons  behind 
entrenchments.    But  the  result  was  scarcely  ever  in  doubt. 

A  parley  was  held  with  Mlozi  the  chief  under  a  flag  of 

truce,  and  he  was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  surrender ;  but 

he  refused,  choosing  to  fight  to  a  finish.     The  earthworks 

were  at  last  blown  down  by  artillery  and  the  Sikhs  let  go. 

They  stopped  at  nothing  in  their  mad  rush  to  victory.  All 

the  stockades  fell  in  rapid  succession.    Mlozi  was  captured, 

311 


CAPTURE  OF  MWASrS  STRONGHOLD 


tried,  and  executed  for  the  brutal  massacre  of  those  grand 
Wankonde  in  the  lagoon,  whose  deaths  were  at  last  avenged 
by  British  justice.    Alas  !  it  came  too  late. 

The  grand  sweep  of  Wankonde  manhood,  swinging  down 
to  the  lake  to  bathe,  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  British 
flag  flew  not  only  over  the  ashes  of  Mlozi's  towns,  but  over 
the  silent  graves  of  a  partially  destroyed  tribe. 

The  road  to  Cairo  was  at  last  open,  and  troops  were  sent 
to  me  at  Kotakota  with  instructions  to  take  what  steps  I 
considered  necessary  to  open  the  south-western  trade-route 
to  Rhodesia.  Cecil  Rhodes  was  working  northwards,  we  were 
working  southwards,  to  complete  the  chain  of  communications. 

I  embraced  the  opportunity  of  sending  a  postcard  through 
to  Cairo  by  an  English  traveller,  who  kindly  offered  to  convey 
it  via  Uganda.  This  card  was  the  first  postal  missive  sent 
through,  and  was  afterwards  graciously  accepted  as  a  souvenir 
by  my  Sovereign. 

Wishing  to  avoid  recourse  to  arms,  if  possible,  I  again 
sent  to  Mwasi,  demanding  an  open  road  and  the  surrender 
of  the  murderer,  at  the  same  time  warning  him  that  a  refusal 
would  certainly  mean  war  at  once.  Nothing  but  insolence 
was  received  in  reply,  so  I  decided  to  accept  their  invitation 
to  visit  them.  Lieutenant  Alston  of  the  Coldstream  Guards, 
with  the  victorious  Indian  troops,  had  completed  all  arrange- 
ments, and  we  left  Kotakota  for  Mwasi's,  sixty  miles  distant 
over  the  hills.  At  our  second  camp  more  than  2400  irregular 
troops  joined  us,  bringing  their  own  rifles  and  ammunition; 
not  a  percussion-cap  had  been  issued  by  the  Government. 
The  Indians  were  slow  on  the  march,  but  solid ;  one  felt  they 
could  be  depended  on.  I  went  on  with  a  flying  detachment 
to  secure  the  first  village  and  food.  We  marched  all  night, 
and  crept  close  to  the  town,  hiding  in  the  grass.  As  soon 
as  they  opened  the  gates  in  the  morning  we  dashed  through, 
ordering  the  people  to  remain  quiet  so  that  no  one  should 
get  hurt.     The  main  body  arrived  about  noon,  and  the 

S12 


CAPTURE  OF  MWASrS  STRONGHOLD 


inhabitants  of  116  villages  which  dotted  the  plain  knew  that 
war  had  arrived  in  dead  earnest. 

The  country  was  open,  the  people  very  quarrelsome,  and 
had  they  been  of  Zulu  extraction,  there  were  enough  of  them 
to  give  considerable  trouble.  Several  chiefs  sent  protesting 
neutrality,  and  to  them  were  given  white  flags  to  hoist  over 
their  towns. 

At  4  A.M.,  in  a  downpour  of  rain,  we  marched  towards 
Mwasi's  headquarters.  As  we  approached  the  mountain  stray 
shots  were  fired  at  us  from  its  slopes,  and  we  could  see  a  host 
of  half-wild  creatures  brandishing  their  spears  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  their  stockades.  A  detachment  of  Makua  soldiers 
was  ordered  to  extend  into  skirmishing  order,  to  drive  in  the 
outposts  of  our  enemy;  but  they  showed  the  white  feather, 
and  refused  to  march  into  the  high  grass.  The  wily  native 
and  his  spear  were  not  relished  by  these  cowards. 

It  was  not  a  task  to  attempt  with  my  armed  rabble,  so 
they  were  ordered  to  remain  under  the  mountain  and  not  to 
take  part  in  the  fight  until  they  saw  us  take  the  first  village. 
In  fact,  they  took  the  place  of  cavalry. 

My  detachment,  consisting  of  Sikhs,  was  marched  across  to 
the  right.  As  we  took  up  position  the  natives  fired,  wounding 
several  men,  but  they  refused  to  retire.  The  people  shouted 
to  us : 

"  We'll  send  you  back  to  the  lake  to  eat  fish." 
"  Junglee,  Junglee,  plenty  know  how  to  fight." 
The  Sikhs  called  all  Africans  Junglees,  and  thoroughly 
despised  them. 

Alston  occupied  the  centre  position,  a  sergeant-major  the 
left.  At  the  sound  of  a  bugle,  we  were  to  fire  three  volleys, 
fix  bayonets,  and  charge. 

How  eager  those  splendid  Sikhs  were,  and  as  steady  as  if  on 
parade.  They  needed  no  leading,  for  at  the  first  note  of  the 
bugle  their  rifles  rang  out,  bayonets  were  fixed,  and  with  a 
shout  they  were  off,  straight  for  those  loopholed  walls.  The 

313 


CAPTURE  OF  MWASrS  STRONGHOLD 


other  detachment  charged  simultaneously,  making  such  a 
deafening  noise  as  had  never  been  heard  before  on  that 
plain.  We  were  checked  several  times  by  the  heavy  fire 
from  rifles  and  arrows  as  we  got  closer,  but  the  Indian  blood 
was  up.  No  natives  could  face  their  wild  looks,  as,  with  a 
final  shout,  they  flung  themselves  over  the  stockade  and 
rallied  inside,  breathless,  perspiring,  and  dirty,  but  victorious ! 
The  same  process  was  repeated  with  several  other  large  towns, 
some  taking  longer  to  capture  than  others,  but  they  ail  went 
under  in  the  end.    Mwasi  succeeded  in  escaping. 

Saidi  Mwazungu  was  captured  after  four  years'  constant 
endeavours  to  bring  him  to  account  for  his  atrocious  deed. 
My  irregular  host  were  set  free,  and  they  completed  the 
opening  of  the  road  towards  the  Cape.  In  addition  to  Saidi 
Mwazungu,  we  captured  one  Arab  standard,  hundreds  of 
cattle,  sheep,  and  goats,  about  .^^1200  worth  of  ivory,  298 
rifles,  gunpowder,  and  tons  of  food.  Soaked  with  rain  and 
covered  with  mud,  I  joined  Alston  in  the  evening,  who  was 
in  a  similar  plight,  and  as  the  old  year  died  and  the  new 
one  was  born,  we  drank  hot  coffee  to  "  Absent  Friends " 
in  Merrie  England. 

An  independent  writer  summed  up  our  operations  thus: 
"  The  opening  of  the  trade-routes  to  the  Luapula  River  are 
not  the  greatest  advantages  which  will  be  derived  from  this 
defeat  of  Mwasi.  We  may  be  certain  that  the  prestige  of 
dealers  in  human  misery  will  have  received  a  shattering  blow 
in  all  the  regions  between  the  Portuguese  border  and  the 
Loangwa,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ability  of  the  British 
to  make  their  Protectorate  of  the  country  a  reality  will  have 
been  most  forcibly  impressed  on  the  native  mind.  Not  only 
has  the  capital  of  the  presumptuous  monarch  been  captured, 
but  a  fort  has  been  built  there  which  is  now  garrisoned  by 
Protectorate  troops,  so  that  there  will  be  a  standing  pledge 
and  symbol  of  our  authority  in  the  heart  of  the  country. 
Thus  gradually  and  irrevocably  the  tide  of  civilisation  sweeps 


A  BREACH  OF  ETIQUETTE 


onward  over  the  darkest  places  of  the  Dark  Continent,  and 
not  for  the  first  or  the  last  time  has  British  daring  and 
enterprise  brought  succour  to  the  slave.  If  the  process  of 
'  ransoming  the  African '  has  to  be  effected  by  violent  means, 
then  it  is  altogether  satisfactory  to  find  that  a  force  under 
the  British  Flag  is  capable  of  meeting  four  times  its  number 
of  natives  and  semi-Arabs  and  putting  them  to  rout.  In  a 
victory  of  this  description  there  is  much  to  be  proud  of,  and 
nothing  to  regret,  for  it  is  a  triumph  of  justice  and  mercy 
over  base  greed  and  cruelty/' 

I  insert  the  foregoing  in  memory  of  my  brave  comrade, 
Lieutenant  Alston,  who  afterwards  fell  a  victim  to  fever  in 
Nyasaland.  Saidi  Mwazungu  was,  later  on,  brought  before  me 
on  a  charge  of  murdering  Dr.  Boyce  and  another,  to  which  he 
pleaded  guilty.  A  long  trial  nevertheless  followed,  in  which  he 
was  ably  defended  by  Arab  friends,  but  the  evidence  was  over- 
whelming, and  I  was  compelled  to  pass  sentence  of  death. 
This  was  endorsed  by  H.M.  Consul-General,  and  he  was 
executed  at  Kotakota. 

Having  now  assumed  authority  over  all  the  hill  people,  it 
was  necessary  for  me  to  warn  the  great  Mpeseni  to  let  our 
people  alone ;  so  I  sent  him  twelve  head  of  cattle,  informing 
him  of  our  occupation  of  Marimba,  and  that  he  must  cease  to 
raid  the  people. 

To  this  he  replied : 

"  If  any  of  my  people  do  so,  cut  off  their  heads." 

He  also  sent  Indunas  to  interview  me  at  the  lake,  but  no 
return  present.  I  let  them  chat  on  undisturbed,  and,  when 
they  had  finished,  I  surprised  them  by  saying:  "Your  mouths 
are  full  of  words,  but  your  hands  are  empty.  No  chief  sends  to 
another  only  words ;  you  must  be  impostors.  When  I  spoke  to 
Mpezeni  there  were  six  cattle  in  each  hand.  My  chief  is  much 
greater  than  yours,  and  yet  your  chief  dares  to  speak  to  me 
with  empty  hands.  It  is  an  insult;  go  away  and  tell  him 
so."    They  saw  that  their  chief  had  committed  a  breach  of 

315  R 


PEACE  A^ICTORIES 


etiquette,  that  he  was  treating  me  as  a  subordinate,  not  even 
as  an  equal,  and  that  I  would  not  submit. 

The  Induna  replied:  "You  talk  as  a  chief;  Mpezeni  will 
speak  again  next  month." 

He  did,  and  with  ivory  in  both  hands,  so  all  was  peaceful. 

A  period  of  comparative  rest  followed  these  stormy  times. 
The  building-up  process  had  to  be  commenced  all  through  the 
Protectorate ;  and  there  was  one  important  work  which  had 
to  be  done  first.  Civilisation  had  concluded  it  was  better  to 
decide  frontiers  by  the  pen  than  by  the  sword,  so  I  was  sent 
as  British  Commissioner  to  meet  Portuguese  officials  to  mark 
out  our  respective  territories. 

How  little  the  general  public  know  of  these  international, 
diplomatic,  and  economical  victories  of  civilisation  gained 
every  year  by  a  few  unknown  public  servants  in  the  heart  of 
Africa  and  elsewhere.  When  the  sword  is  drawn  and  the 
cannon  speaks,  making  widows  and  orphans  in  thousands,  and 
taking  millions  of  treasure  from  the  tax-payer,  the  world 
rings  with  applause  of  the  victorious  general.  But  there  are 
perhaps  greater  victories  won  by  isolated  officials  in  a  quiet 
camp  away  yonder  amongst  the  hill-tops,  with  nothing  but  a 
sextant,  a  theodolite,  and  plane-table,  adding  lines  to  the  map 
of  the  world  which  perhaps  enclose  territories  greater  than 
Britain  itself,  and  the  cost  of  such  title-deeds  less  than  the 
rifles  of  a  single  brigade  of  troops. 

May  we  not  call  these  victories  of  civilisation  and  common 
sense  ?  Not  quite  so  exciting  as  the  furious  rush  through 
smoke,  but  the  result  is  the  same.  Tlie  old  flag  goes  up.  I 
remember,  at  the  completion  of  our  work  on  the  frontier,  one 
of  my  Portuguese  colleagues,  with  whom  we  had  conducted 
the  delicate  negotiations,  lit  a  cigarette,  lay  back  in  his  chair 
beside  the  last  erected  beacon,  and  asked  : 

"  Don't  you  think  our  countries  ought  to  fire  a  salute  at 
the  peaceful  termination  of  such  w^ork  ?  " 

"Captain  !  "I  replied,  "did  you  ever  know  a  native  of  this 

316 


LION  SHOOTING 


country  appreciate  anything  you  gave  him  ?  Make  him  jjay 
for  it  handsomely  and  you  increase  its  value !  So  it  is  with 
all  such  work  as  ours.  It  costs  little  from  an  Imperial  point 
of  view,  and  is  not  of  so  much  value  to  those  who  order  salutes 
to  be  fired  as  a  single  vote  of  the  village  blacksmith  in  an 
obscure  corner  of  our  countries.  Never  mind !  When  your 
son  and  mine  come  home  from  school,  we  may  have  the  great 
pleasure  of  hearing  them  describe  where  this  beacon  stands, 
dividing  the  land  of  Portugal  from  England." 

"Yes,"'  he  replied,  "that's  nice  to  remember.  It  was 
erected  by  the  aid  of  sun,  stars,  and  telescope.  The  sword 
does  not  erect ;  it  cuts  down.  Nevertheless,  it  is  bright,  sharp, 
and  it  hurts,  and — scores !  The  pen  is  too  tame  for  the 
excitable  world  of  to-day." 

We  saluted  each  other  and  parted,  both  proud  to  have 
held  for  a  time  the  confidence  of  our  Sovereigns. 

The  occupation  of  delimiting  the  frontier  was  interrupted 
one  evening  by  my  noticing  a  flock  of  vultures  hovering  in 
the  air,  and  others  sitting  on  trees.  This  indicated  the 
presence  of  some  dead  animal  in  the  vicinity,  so  I  approached 
very  cautiously  through  the  grass  and  came  on  a  dead  bull 
eland,  partially  eaten  by  lions,  who  were,  doubtless,  in  hiding 
near  by. 

Sending  on  the  porters,  I  climbed  a  low  tree  to  look  over 
the  tall  grass,  and  remained  quiet.  After  an  hour's  waiting 
the  vultures  became  uneasy,  and  I  guessed  the  lion  was  on  the 
move.  This  proved  to  be  the  case,  as  immediately  a  lioness 
emerged  into  the  open,  close  to  the  dead  animal,  and  began 
smelling  about,  very  suspicious  that  something  was  wrong.  I 
was  about  seven  feet  from  the  ground,  quite  within  her  spring- 
ing distance,  but  she  had  not  yet  noticed  me,  and  I  was 
content  to  keep  her  covered  by  my  rifle  and  wait  for  the 
lion.  This  little  game  she  suddenly  spoiled  by  turning  her 
eyes  directly  at  me;  possibly  I  had  made  some  slight  noise,  or 
she  got  my  wind.     She  looked  very  handsome  with  head 

317 


LION  HUNTING 


thrown  up,  ears  erect,  and  tail  straight  out.  I  was  discovered. 
She  appeared  to  hesitate  as  to  what  it  were  best  to  do,  we 
had  met  so  suddenly.  I  was  a  little  too  far  off  for  her,  I 
imagine,  so  she  curled  up  one  lip  and  turned  to  retreat,  when 
I  rolled  her  over  with  a  split  Jeffery  bullet  through  the 
shoulder. 

It  w^as  time  to  look  out  for  her  mate,  who  was,  I  felt,  sure 
to  be  near.  And  I  was  right ;  for,  turning  my  head  towards  a 
movement  in  the  grass,  I  saw  the  lion  approaching  in  response 
to  the  deep  growds  of  the  lioness  as  she  was  struck  down.  He 
saw  me  the  instant  I  moved,  and  stopped,  crouching,  as  if  to 
spring ;  for  this  I  dared  not  wait,  so  I  shot  him  at  once.  He 
never  moved,  being  stunned  by  the  bullet.  They  were  not 
full-grown;  but  their  perfect  skulls  may  be  seen  in  the 
Worthing  Museum,  together  with  the  record  wart-hog  shot 
in  the  same  neighbourhood.  Lions  were  numerous  along 
certain  portions  of  the  frontier,  probably  owing  to  the  large 
numbers  of  game  which  lived  in  the  adjoining  preserve. 

It  will  be  noticed  our  life  was  extremely  varied  during  this 
transition  stage,  and  some  of  the  best  times  I  had  were  when 
I  could  get  away  into  the  bush  and  hunt  the  elephant,  which 
was  then  becoming  quite  a  nuisance  to  the  people,  since  they 
w^ere  not  allowed  to  be  shot  at  except  under  a  £25  licence. 
They  would  enter  maize-gardens  and  make  havoc,  destroying 
grain-stores  and  consuming  their  contents.  Females  and  their 
young  were  the  principal  offenders.  I  found  the  cow  elephant 
and  tuskiess  bulls  by  far  the  most  dangerous.  They  appeared 
ahvays  on  the  alert  to  scent  danger,  whilst  the  old  bulls 
sheltered  under  dense  vegetation,  not  anticipating  trouble  of 
any  description. 

It  is  a  debatable  point  with  hunters  whether  they  see  you 
and  are  callous,  or  whether  they  think  you  are  game  not  worth 
noticing.  At  times  I  have  moved  about,  close  to  a  herd, 
without  their  being  alarmed ;  at  other  times  I  have  been  seen 
at  once,  and  immediately  charged  by  cows.    I  am  inclined  to 

318 


INFANTILE  MORTALITY 


think  one  is  not  noticed,  especially  in  strong  sunlight,  but  it 
is  difficult  to  escape  observation  early  in  the  morning  or  late 
in  the  day.  There  is  still  a  considerable  number  of  cows  in 
Nyasaland,  but  old  bulls  are  very  scarce. 

As  the  country  becomes  developed,  these  animals  will  have 
to  go ;  for  already  the  educated  native  is  asking  why  he  pays 
taxes,  and  is  not  compensated  by  the  Government  for  loss  of 
crops  by  elephants.  The  tax-collector  rapidly  followed  the 
magistrate,  the  problem  he  found  was  how  to  obtain  taxes 
from  a  people  who  had  not  the  means  to  pay  ? 

In  some  districts  labour  was  obtainable,  but  mine  was  too 
far  removed  from  the  trade-centres,  so  I  made  them  cultivate 
rice  which  I  received  in  lieu  of  taxes.  This  was  carefully 
nursed  year  by  year,  until  we  exported  from  Jumbe's  old  slave- 
depot  no  less  than  600  tons  in  one  season.  The  use  of  Indian 
rice  was  abandoned  in  favour  of  our  home-grown  produce, 
and  there  seems  no  reason  why  the  vast  marshes  in  the  Shire 
River  valley  should  not  be  torn  up  by  steam-ploughs  and  tens 
of  thousands  of  tons  of  rice  grown  and  exported  to  South 
Africa  and  other  countries,  cheaper  than  it  can  be  brought 
from  the  East. 

Another  great  problem  was  how  to  stop  the  destruction  of 
infants.  When  a  woman  had  given  birth  to  twins,  the  work 
imposed  on  her  in  the  rice-fields  was  so  great  a  burthen  as  to 
be  almost  unbearable  ;  and  there  were,  no  doubt,  thousands  of 
infants  killed.  I  had  long  talks  with  the  chiefs,  but  they  all 
considered  that  it  was  no  use  punishing  the  women ;  we  must 
gain  our  object  by  other  means.  I  recognised  that  it  was 
a  great  task  for  mothers  with  twin  children  to  clean  the  tax- 
rice,  and  this  helped  me  to  solve  the  problem  of  infantile 
mortality. 

I  issued  a  notice  to  the  effect  that  all  women  who  bore 
twins  would  be  exempt  from  taxation  during  the  current 
year,  provided  they  brought  the  youngsters  the  following 
year.    This  paternal  administration  brought  down  on  me  an 

319 


INFANTILE  MORTALITY 


avalanche  of  good-natured  banter  from  colleagues,  but  the 
end  justified  the  means.  It  also  caused  not  a  little  merriment 
at  the  annual  collection  of  taxes. 

I  was  prepared  for  fraud,  so  each  pair  of  little  darkies  was 
subjected  to  the  scrutiny  of  an  unemotional  native  sergeant  of 
police ;  and  to  create  as  much  fun  as  possible,  I  insisted  on 
two  boys  being  on  the  examining  staff.  Those  boys  almost 
made  people  consider  themselves  extremely  fortunate  to  be 
allowed  to  pay  taxes  ;  their  happy  jokes  at  the  expense  of 
some  women  who  tried  to  impose  on  me  were  most  refreshing 
to  us  all,  and  made  the  issue  of  tax  receipts  quite  a  pleasant 
occupation. 

I  frequently  heard  conversations  like  the  following  take 
place  : — 

"  That  child  is  not  yours ;  you  have  borrowed  it !  " 
"  That  one's  nose  is  flatter  than  this  one's  !  " 
"  This  baby  is  older  and  fatter  than  the  other ;  take  it 
away." 

If  they  passed  the  youthful  examiners,  the  general  public 
gave  the  mother  a  cheer  as  she  left  the  custom-house,  but  I 
must  admit  it  seemed  to  rain  twins  the  first  year.  I  argued 
that  if  I  could  make  it  pay  her  to  preserve  the  second  child  for 
a  year,  the  mother  would  have  not  only  become  used  to  the 
burden,  but  would  have  learned  to  love  it,  and  would  need  no 
further  incentive  to  spare  its  life.  There  was  compensation, 
I  think,  for  the  momentary  loss  of  a  3s.-tax  in  the  annual 
addition  to  the  manhood,  and  therefore  to  the  labourers  of 
the  country.  It  may  have  been  a  crude  manner  of  dealing 
with  such  a  task,  but  great  evils  need  heroic  remedies  in 
new  countries. 

The  Arab  regime  had  too  long  held  the  field  for  purposes 
of  destruction  ;  it  was  now  our  turn  to  initiate  new  methods,  to 
stop  any  further  decrease  of  the  population,  and  to  build  up 
out  of  chaos  and  ruin  a  healthier  and  better  race  of  people. 
The  abolition  of  slavery  broke  down  all  tribal  jealousies. 

320 


FREEDOM'S  DIFFICULTIES 

People  began  to  travel,  and  this  meant  enlightenment  and 
broadening  of  ideas.  Young  people  perceived  that  there 
were  other  and  better  methods  to  be  learned  from  larger  and 
more  powerful  tribes.  Thousands,  who  had  been  carried  away 
as  slaves  in  their  youth,  found  old  relatives  still  alive,  and  a 
general  migration  ensued  from  one  district  to  another,  bring- 
ing all  kinds  of  intricate  relationships  and  claims  to  be  adjudi- 
cated in  our  Law  Courts — as,  for  example,  a  girl  carried  away 
as  a  slave  married  her  captor's  son,  bore  children  ;  they  had 
in  turn  married.  She  hears  of  her  own  relations  being  still 
alive  in  the  old  home  and  she  at  once  runs  away,  taking 
all  her  children.  The  father  follows  and  claims  his  wife 
and  children.  These  are  divided  again,  some  clinging  to 
the  mother,  others  to  the  father ;  the  girl  claiming  freedom 
under  our  flag,  the  husband  claiming  to  have  been  legally 
married  under  native  law. 

Freedom  in  thousands  of  instances  set  whole  families  at 
variance,  their  claims  being  so  w^ell  balanced  as  to  make  it  no 
easy  task  to  decide  in  a  British  Court.  In  the  case  of  young 
children,  the  ruse  of  Solomon  frequently  needed  to  be  put 
into  practice.  This  side  of  the  white  man's  burden  is  not 
illustrated  in  Blue  Books  or  tabulated  in  Revenue-returns ; 
but  it  forms  a  very  real  part  of  every  magistrate's  day's 
work. 

Fanatics  often  ask  :  Why  not  abolish  slavery  with  a  stroke 
of  the  pen?  It  cannot  be  done  without  bringing  many 
extremely  painful  experiences  into  the  lives  of  the  liberated, 
and  the  wiser  course  is  a  gradual  transition.  I  often 
wondered  whether  the  natives  really  felt  thankful  to  us  for 
crushing  the  slave-trade,  for  the  new  state  of  things  brought 
no  end  of  trouble  in  the  early  days.  Again  and  again  I 
asked  myself  the  question  :  Will  they,  during  my  lifetime, 
realise  what  freedom  means?  My  question  was  completely 
answered  by  a  boy,  just  before  I  left  the  country,  and  it  gave 
me  infinite  satisfaction.    A  big,  burly  man  ordered  a  lad  to 

321 


SEEDS  OF  FREEDOM 


do  something,  but  the  boy  turned  on  him  sharply,  uttering 
these  words : 

"  I  shan't !    Do  you  think  I  am  a  slave  ?  " 

That  was  what  we  had  all  been  working  for.  It  had  come 
at  last!  The  African  rising  generation  no  longer  imagined 
it  was  simply  unfortunate  to  be  a  slave,  they  felt  it  to  he 
a  disgrace!  In  that  knowledge  lived  the  germ  of  a  social 
revolution. 


322 


CHAPTER  XIX 


Wonderful  Industrial  Development 

WE  have  travelled  far  together  since  landing  from  the 
old  slave-dhow  opposite  Zanzibar,  and  have  almost 
witnessed  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Central  African 
drama  in  which  the  writer  took  part.  Could  David  Living- 
stone live  again  he  would  be  astonished  at  the  transformation 
scene.  He  took  wide  and  comprehensive  views  of  national 
responsibilities,  focussing  our  vision  upon  the  grievances  and 
oppression  which  weighed  on  this  dark  corner  of  the  world. 

Cecil  Rhodes,  whose  greatness  perhaps  we  have  scarcely  yet 
accurately  realised,  also  thought  in  continents,  and  whilst  we 
were  clearing  the  path  northwards,  he  was  forging  up  from 
the  south.  His  line  of  iron  telegraph-poles  marched  onwards 
through  treacherous  swamps,  penetrating  dense  forests  in- 
habited by  the  ponderous  elephant  (who  frequently  played 
havoc  with  the  intruder).  Still  on,  over  mountain  and  valley, 
ever  northwards,  this  line  followed  a  steadfast  course  until  it 
spanned  the  mighty  Zambezi  River.  To  reach  this  goal  was, 
for  the  moment,  considered  a  marvellous  achievement  by  most 
people ;  but  there  was  no  half-way  house  in  the  brain  of 
Rhodes.  No  rest  for  those  poles  until  stretching  up  to,  and 
across,  the  Shire  River,  they  placed  Blantyre,  the  namesake  of 
Livingstone's  birthplace,  in  touch  with  both  hemispheres. 
Scarcely  lingering  there  a  day,  they  skirted  the  shores  of  Lake 
Nyasa,  leaping,  as  it  were,  the  lofty  plateau  (where  the 
elephants  smashed  up  my  cooking  utensils  one  night !)  and 
embracing  far-away  Tanganyika. 

Little  did  I  imagine,  as  we  posted  that  scrawl  of  Pitman's 

323 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


shorthand  down  the  barrel  of  a  rifle  in  our  endeavour  to 
communicate  with  the  outside  world,  that  it  would  be 
possible  in  my  time  to  send  a  telegram  to  London  in  two 
days  from  near  the  spot  where  Stanley  met  Livingstone; 
yet  such  was  the  case. 

The  complete  cessation  of  war  brought  to  life  a  compara- 
tively dead  people.  Whole  tribes  began  to  get  their  heads 
up,  to  look  around,  and  there  was  born  a  very  natural  desire 
to  see  the  world.  To  thousands  of  liberated  men  the 
southern  gold-fields  were  an  irresistible  attraction.  At  home 
they  could  not  hope  to  receive  more  than  three  shillings 
per  month  for  their  labour,  that  being  really  good  wages 
at  the  time ;  but  they  were  not  slow  to  learn  that,  by 
marching  a  few  hundred  miles,  they  could  obtain  fifteen 
to  twenty  shillings  per  month,  and  so  they  trekked  south- 
wards in  thousands. 

Local  interests  suffered  from  this  wholesale  exodus,  and 
it  was  not  easy  for  some  who  complained  bitterly  to  recognise 
the  fact  that,  when  once  you  knock  the  slave-chain  off  a 
man's  neck,  you  not  only  release  his  body  but  give  wings 
to  his  mind.  He  begins  to  think,  and  soon  learns  that  his 
labour  is  his  capital.  We  were  compelled  to  face  these 
new  problems  almost  before  the  slave-chain  had  become  rusty. 

To  readers  who  have  never  witnessed  the  awakening  of 
a  race  of  men,  it  is  difficult  adequately  to  describe  the  rapid 
march  of  their  progress.  One's  brain  at  times  became 
confused,  a  portion  thinking  along  the  lines  of  the  old 
regime,  when  palaver  and  finesse  were  used  to  guide  the 
half-savage  intellect ;  another  portion  studying  some  obscure 
clause  of  an  "  Order  in  Council,"  and  trying  to  foresee  the 
effect  it  would  have  on  the  latest  development  of  character. 
One  moment  we  were  endeavouring  to  explain  to  the  natives 
the  use  of  the  long  wire  running  through  the  country,  and 
listening  to  their  declaration  that  it  was  put  up  simply  "for 
swallows  to  sit  on ; ''  the  next,  hearing  one  of  their  tribe 

SM 


Building  a  Fort 

The  Author  planting  the  British  flag  on  a  clearing  of  dense  bush  pre- 
paratory to  erecting  a  fort  to  hold  the  Arabs  in  check  in  North  Nyasaland. 
Cooking  operations  are  seen  in  the  foreground,  whilst  a  sentry  watches  on 
the  bush  side.  Subsequently  the  Arabs  who  massacred  the  Wankonde  in 
the  lagoon  were  crushed  near  to  this  fort  and  the  road  to  Cairo  cleared. 


A  Beautiful  Native-built  Cathedral 


This  is  the  most  beautiful  cathedral  in  Equatorial  Africa,  and  was  erected  by  Nyasaland 
natives  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Universities  Mission.  All  the  fancy  bricks,  stone- 
carving,  and  elaborate  woodwork,  are  native  made.  The  Established  Church  of  Scotland  has 
also  a  very  fine  church  at  Blantyre. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


tick  off  our  Christmas  greetings  to  a  friend  in  the  old 
country.  To-day  missionaries  might  be  seen  laboriously 
teaching  a  lad  the  alphabet ;  to-morrow  that  youngster  is 
busily  typing  despatches  to  the  Home  Government. 

Perhaps  the  most  bewildering  advance  was  made  along 
industrial  lines.  Not  many  miles  from  where  the  missionary, 
Atley,  was  murdered,  now  stands  the  most  beautiful  cathedral 
in  Equatorial  Africa,  erected  by  black  men  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  Universities  Missionaries.  It  is  built 
of  stone,  quarried  out  of  the  adjacent  hills,  and  bricks 
moulded  into  various  shapes.  The  carved  wood  and  stone- 
work would  reflect  credit  on  a  European  mechanic.  To  stand 
inside  and  gaze  up  at  its  lofty  roof,  supported  by  enormous 
arches,  makes  one  almost  doubt  the  fact  that  but  a  very 
few  years  ago  the  only  structures  the  builders  knew  of  were 
made  of  reeds  and  mud. 

Busy  compositors  rapidly  set  up  minute  type  for  the 
printing  press  which  chronicles  the  daily  onward  march  of  a 
race,  not  long  since  a  mere  shuttle-cock,  driven  hither  and 
thither  by  the  merciless  strokes  of  the  slave-raiders. 

A  youth,  whose  relatives  have  not  yet  given  up  allegiance 
to  the  dreaded  poison  ordeal,  and  retain  implicit  belief  in 
all  kinds  of  witchcraft,  may  be  seen  reading  his  Greek 
testament  and  shepherding  the  younger  boys  of  his  own  village. 
One  moment  a  magistrate  may  be  heard  passing  sentence  of 
death  on  a  creature  who  is  little  removed  from  the  brute 
the  next,  marrying  a  young  couple,  near  relations  of  his,  who 
have  renounced  polygamy.  A  man,  not  yet  past  the  prime 
of  life,  who  has  never  stepped  inside  a  craft  larger  than  a 
canoe,  stops  to  gaze  with  awe  and  wonder  at  a  huge  steam 
vessel  as  it  rushes  past,  nearly  upsetting  his  frail  boat;  and 
as  he  looks  he  waves  his  hand  to  his  son  on  the  bridge,  who 
is  piloting  and  steering  the  steel  monster  into  port. 

The  rattle  of  Masakambewa's  spears  against  the  Angoni 
shields  had  scarcely  become  inaudible  ere  I  heard  of  the 

327 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


measured  tramp  of  their  brothers,  clad  in  khaki,  led  by 
their  own  brass  band  and  non-commissioned  officers,  boldly 
turning  out  an  enemy  from  the  dense  bush  in  Ashantee.  The 
men  who  saw  their  kith  and  kin  carried  olF  by  a  cowardly 
rabble  of  semi- Arabs,  and  dared  not  raise  a  protesting  hand, 
were  but  lately  dying  to  a  man  in  Somaliland  to  uphold  the 
British  Flag. 

In  the  department  of  finance  we  could  not  escape  the 
maelstrom  caused  by  a  whirling  race  enjoying  its  first  hours 
of  liberty.  The  mind  so  long  used  to  bales  of  unbleached 
calico,  beads,  salt,  and  brass-wire,  found  it  difficult  to 
commence  a  cash-book  and  ledger. 

Calico,  the  bulky  currency  of  yesterday,  which  at  times 
became  the  prey  of  rapacious  white  ants  and  rats,  used  to  be 
carefully  guarded  in  a  mud  hut,  while,  in  a  similar  erection 
close  at  hand,  austere  policemen  watched  over  captured  men- 
hunters.  When  I  closed  my  last  year's  accounts  of  John  Bull 
and  Co.,  at  the  once  vilest  slave-centre  in  Nyasaland,  they 
showed  a  total  of  no  less  than  £25fi00  received  from  direct 
taxation  in  one  district,  where  such  a  thing  as  a  penny  had 
never  been  heard  of  when  we  first  made  the  acquaintance  of 
its  inhabitants ;  and  this  substantial  contribution  towards  the 
maintenance  of  good  government  was  raised  in  one  of  the 
least-advanced  districts  of  the  Protectorate. 

As  the  black  people  advanced,  new  methods  had  perforce 
to  be  introduced.  The  old  rule  of  thumb,  rough  common 
sense,  patriarchal  form  of  government,  had  to  give  way  to 
more  organised  methods  as  European  and  Indian  subjects 
came  on  the  scene  and  entered  into  the  life  and  trade  which 
followed  on  the  suppression  of  lawlessness. 

The  pioneer  had  to  give  place  to  trained  officials,  well 
instructed  in  the  Law  of  Evidence.  The  handful  of  white 
men,  who  formerly  held  tens  of  thousands  of  coloured  people 
in  check,  had  been  unable  to  study  the  fine  distinctions  which 
European  law  makes  in  judging  the  crime  of  "murder.""  If 

328 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


life  had  been  wilfully  taken,  the  fact  had  to  be  recognised 
and  punished  at  once,  or  a  tribe  might  be  annihilated.  The 
slightest  leak  had  to  be  stopped^  not  merely  checked ;  pestilent 
weeds  rooted  up,  not  cut  down.  From  refusing  to  a  white 
man  the  ordinary  courtesy  a  native  would  have  readily  given 
in  his  wild  state  to  his  chief,  or  any  one  in  authority,  there 
is  but  a  short  step  to  hustling  women  off  the  pavement  and 
worse.  It  is  one  thing  to  head  an  anti-slavery  deputation  to 
an  over-worked  Colonial  Secretary,  but  a  vastly  different 
matter  to  be  on  the  spot  when  wholly  new  machinery  is  being 
brought  into  use ;  and  it  is  easy,  as  every  permanent  official 
knows  too  well,  to  pull  the  wrong  lever  and  wreck  a  province. 

There  was  no  booming  of  Nyasaland;  its  progress  was 
rapid,  but  without  ostentation.  No  gold-mines  blinded  the 
eyes  of  settlers  to  the  profits  of  agriculture,  the  best  of  all 
foundations  for  a  colony.  "  Keep  to  the  land  was  the  rally- 
ing cry,  and  soon  coffee  was  produced  that  realised  fancy 
prices,  though  the  young  industry  was  crippled  for  a  time 
through  want  of  knowledge  and  capital,  shortage  of  labour 
in  the  proper  season,  and  various  insect  pests. 

Every  ounce  of  goods  in  transport  was  at  first  carried  on 
men's  heads,  until  it  became  impossible  to  keep  the  clock 
back  any  longer,  and  the  first  sod  of  a  railway  was  cut. 

At  the  very  spot  where  the  captain's  boy  fell  overboard, 
and  we  were  stranded  on  the  sandbanks,  a  target  for  sneaking 
natives  behind  bushes  on  the  banks,  railway  trucks  now  roll 
over  the  river  on  a  bridge.  Where  once  stood  the  famous 
stockade  of  young  Chikusi,  who,  in  revenge  for  the  murder 
of  his  relative  by  a  white  man,  attempted  to  seize  the  white 
women  at  Bl  an  tyre,  Government  offices,  stores,  railway  station, 
and  tennis-courts  are  crowded  together  in  the  usual  up-to- 
date  style. 

The  unhealthy  reeds  and  marshes,  through  v/hich  we  were 
forced  to  travel  in  narrow  canoes,  are  now  forsaken  for  a 
rapid  passage  in  a  luxuriously  upholstered  railway  carriage, 

329 


INDTJSTRIAI.  DEVELOPMENT 


and  one  may  get  decent  lunch  en  route.  In  place  of  a 
long  weary  line  of  over-weighted  black  men,  toiling  up  the 
steep  ascent  to  the  Shire  Highlands,  a  locomotive  drags 
hundreds  of  tons  of  merchandise  over  hill  and  dale.  Where 
I  looked  with  admiration  at  that  large  herd  of  elephants, 
quietly  feeding  in  the  marsh  near  Chiromo,  may  now  be 
seen  acres  of  cotton  plantations,  and  the  traveller  would 
be  more  likely  to  meet  a  motor-car  than  an  elephant. 

In  Blantyre,  where  they  stole  the  ivory  out  of  the  store 
during  my  first  visit,  and  where  there  lived  but  two  Europeans 
besides  missionaries,  you  may  collide  with  agile  telegraph- 
boys,  be  knocked  down  by  natives  in  European  costume, 
riding  home  from  business  on  bicycles ;  or  be  jostled  by 
some  over-anxious  first-class  passenger  rushing  to  catch  the 
Eastern  express,  armed  with  Cook's  coupons  to  London, 
England.  I  have  but  to  drop  a  newspaper  into  the  pillar- 
box  at  the  top  of  any  road,  and  I  may  be  certain  of  cheering 
up  some  chum  on  distant  Tanganyika  at  a  scheduled  date, 
with  the  details  of  yesterday's  flight  across  the  Channel. 

When  listening  to  the  legend  about  the  man  from 
Katanga,  with  copper — who  drank  at  the  secret  well,  causing 
the  Tanganyika  to  overflow  the  plain — I  little  thought  of 
living  to  see  two  railways  being  built  with  the  object  of 
removing  thousands  of  tons  of  copper  and  other  minerals 
which  are  being  smelted  at  that  spot,  for  the  markets  of 
the  world. 

Explorers,  churchmen,  and  statesmen,  each  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres,  have  originated  new  movements,  and  maintained 
them  at  ever-increasing  speed ;  but  science,  philanthropy, 
and  law  are  by  no  means  the  only  influences  which  have 
been  at  work  in  Equatorial  Africa.  Commerce  was  early 
awake  to  the  vast  possibilities  of  the  Interior,  and  sent 
a  fine  body  of  representatives  to  bring  under  cultivation 
the  almost  virgin  soil  !  Men  with  but  limited  capital  sank 
their  all  in  the  enterprise,  working  from  daylight  to  dark 

330 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


in  unhealthy  places,  turning  up  the  ground  and  planting  the 
coffee  bean. 

They  saw  tens  of  thousands  of  yards  of  calico  being 
annually  used  by  the  black  population  for  clothing,  and 
they  made  the  land  produce  tons  of  the  raw  material,  which 
an  expert  lately  declared  to  be  "  better  than  the  Egyptians 
could  grow  from  their  own  seed." 

They  observed  the  broad-leaved  tobacco-plant  growing 
near  most  villages,  and  at  once  conceived  the  idea  of  com- 
peting with  Havana.  Expensive  experiments  were  patiently 
carried  on  by  our  commercial  pioneers,  with  varying  results. 
Excessive  rains,  which  washed  away  most  of  the  rich  surface- 
soil  as  soon  as  the  dense  vegetation  was  cleared,  were 
followed  by  periods  of  drought,  when  the  pitiless  sun  blackened 
whole  plantations ;  but  the  latest  report  states  that  better 
American  tobacco  is  now  grown  than  can  be  produced  in 
the  United  States.  If  this  is  true,  none  will  be  more  pleased 
than  our  energetic  kinsmen  across  the  Atlantic,  to  know 
that  such  a  young  community  has  taken  on  the  task  of 
"  beating  creation.'' 

Wc  should,  I  think,  altogether  miss  the  mark  if  we  simply 
attempted  to  tabulate  the  work  of  these  men  in  columns 
of  £  s.  d.,  or  trade-returns.  To  any  thinking  man  it  must 
be  apparent  that,  in  the  achievement  of  these  commercial 
successes,  the  rising  generation  of  coloured  men  are  being 
trained  in  the  healthy  school  of  exercise  and  strict  discipline, 
their  masters  being  men  who  let  them  understand  that  they 
have  come  not  merely  to  emancipate  them  from  slavery,  but 
in  pursuit  of  wholesome  enterprises  of  their  own.  Thrift, 
industry,  and  perseverance  are  lessons  learnt  by  thousands 
whose  motto  had  previously  been  :  What  cannot  be  done 
to-day  can  be  done  to-morrow,  or  next  year." 

On  the  land — the  best  of  all  places  for  the  population  of  an 
awakening  country — and  brushing  against  our  hardy  sons  of 
toil,  these  Africans  acquired  many  new  virtues,  and  those  who 

331 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


embraced  Christianity  in  any  of  its  various  forms  were  at  once 
called  upon  in  daily  life  to  put  into  practice  the  lessons  learned 
in  their  churches.  When  seeing  coffee-berries  drop  off  their 
trees,  killed  by  the  dreaded  borer  insect,  and  the  labour 
of  three  years  wrecked  in  a  night,  our  agricultural  friends 
could  scarcely  be  expected  to  tolerate  much  merely  emotional 
religion  during  the  uprooting  process.  They  needed  sterling 
good  workers,  and  those  natives,  whose  first  thoughts  had  been 
directed  by  missionaries,  learned  many  a  new  and  valuable 
lesson  amongst  the  cotton-bushes,  which  tended  to  make  their 
civilisation  very  real.  We  have  much  to  thank  the  planters 
for  in  Nyasaland. 

These  are  not  events  of  the  past  century,  but  of  yesterday 
and  to-day.  Africa  is  compiling  history,  not  by  single  pages, 
but  in  whole  volumes  at  a  stroke.  The  grass  growing  around 
Mary  Moffafs  grave,  by  the  rushing  Zambezi,  is  daily  blackened 
by  the  smoke  from  river- steam  boats,  whose  almost  ceaseless 
paddles  revolve  in  a  mist,  typical  of  the  days  when  she  closed 
her  eyes,  vainly  endeavouring  to  penetrate  the  dense  fog 
enshrouding  a  Continent.  As  she  sat  on  the  Zambezi  banks — 
watching  uprooted  palm  trees  and  reedy  islets  floating  past  to 
the  ocean,  brought  down  from  far-distant  solitary  places  up 
the  river,  beyond  the  thunders  of  the  Zambezi  Falls — did  she 
ever  imagine  that,  before  the  letters  on  her  tombstone  had 
mouldered,  that  very  chasm  would  be  crossed  by  a  hissing 
locomotive,  rushing  towards  the  Equator,  and  scaring  into 
the  bush  with  its  shrill  whistle,  animals  of  species  now  fast 
becoming  extinct  ? 

What  a  series  of  moving  pictures  ! — 'and  one  chafes  at  the 
thought  that  the  light  must  go  out,  and  we  must  come  to  the 
end  of  the  film.  Some  one  else  must  photograph  the  future 
scenes.  Some  of  us  would  fain  live  on,  and  fain  commence 
another  task,  such  as  we  imagine  needs  to  be  undertaken  in 
other  parts  of  Africa. 

At  present  I  live  in  the  past.    When  I  take  off  a  boot 

SS2 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


in  the  quiet  of  my  chamber,  I  seem  to  hear  an  invisible 
companion  whispering,  "  You've  got  no  toes ! "  and  on 
instinctively  challenging  the  assertion,  I  am  met  with  the 
discovery,  "  You're  white  all  over  !  " 

Amid  the  prattle  of  romping  children,  in  the  sweet  fresh- 
mown  grass,  I  hear  the  warning  of  my  little  black  boy — 
"  Master  !  never  sleep  again  in  grass,  plenty  fire  !  "  A  group 
of  village  girls,  dancing  on  the  green,  around  a  street  organ, 
brings  back  to  my  mind  the  dark-brown  lass  whose  dance  was 
followed  by  that  cruel  night  attack,  and  I  wonder  if  the  scar 
remained,  or  how  long  she  lived,  waiting  for  an  answer  to  her — 
"  When  will  you  come  back  ?  "  The  past  and  present  seem 
without  a  clear  dividing  line,  and  yet  it  is  a  long  step  from  a 
slave  chain  to  railway  couplings. 

At  one  time  we  expected  that  Equatorial  Africa  would 
have  to  be  transformed  by  influences  coming  from  the  Cape 
and  up  the  Nile,  that  there  would  be  a  gradual  education 
of  tribe  after  tribe,  light  and  reason,  by  easy  degrees,  dis- 
placing savagery.    But  the  exact  opposite  occurred. 

Nyasaland  was  regenerated  from  within.  The  initial 
blow  which  set  them  free  came  from  without,  but  all  the 
rest  was  built  up  on  the  remains  of  its  own  old  institutions, 
wrecked  by  the  slave-raiders,  and  surrounded  by  tribes  who 
continued  to  live  in  semi-savagery  long  after  Nyasaland 
awoke  from  slumber. 

The  immediate  need  for  room  to  expand  was  felt  by  an 
awakened  tribe;  they  wanted  to  know  what  existed  in  the 
regions  beyond;  and  as  I  saw  some  Nyasaland  soldiers  in 
khaki  lying  on  the  grass  in  a  London  park,  surrounded  by 
laughing  white  girls,  I  thought  their  desire  had  been  fairly 
well  gratified,  although  the  prudence  of  giving  them  so  much 
scope  has  been  seriously  questioned  by  experienced  men. 

I  have  been  repeatedly  asked  what  effect  a  visit  to 
Europe  has  on  a  native,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  reply- 
ing :  It  does  them  harm,  from  the  very  fact  that  people  do 

333  s 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


not  keep  them  in  their  proper  places.  They  are  completely 
spoiled.  The  innocent  freedom  of  our  women  is  totally 
foreign  to  them,  and  is  misunderstood.  There  is  nothing 
gained  by  bringing  them  to  these  countries,  for  everything 
they  see  is  too  wonderful  for  their  brains  to  grasp.  A  few 
facts  are  indelibly  fixed  in  their  minds,  such  as  the  intensely 
cold  wind ;  or  the  great  show  of  meat ;  or  the  hosts  of 
people  and  houses:  nearly  everything  else  soon  vanishes 
from  their  conversation.  Having  received  many  foolish 
attentions  from  both  sexes,  they  return  with  what  is  known 
as  "  swollen  head,"  and  are  utterly  useless  as  servants,  look- 
ing on  work  as  something  for  pagans  to  do. 

One  of  these  spoilt  boys,  who  had  been  taken  to  England 
by  his  master,  returned  not  long  since  to  Blantyre,  and  met 
an  old  acquaintance,  who  inquired  in  the  usual  nanner, 
"  Friend,  what  is  the  news  of  Europe  ? "  The  old  chum, 
now  clad  in  boots,  trousers,  coat,  and  hat,  all  looking  dis- 
reputable, turned  towards  the  questioner  with  a  look  of 
scorn,  replying  in  ready  English,  "  Who  the  devil  are  you  ? 
Clear  out ! " 

That  answer  gives  a  not  unfair  idea  of  the  demoralisation 
of  the  native  which  too  often  results  from  unrestrained 
contact  with  large  numbers  of  Europeans,  and  the  tens  of 
thousands  who  travel  to  South  Africa  for  work  return  home 
very  much  the  worse  for  their  introduction  to  other  tribes. 
They  lose  all  desire  to  return  to  the  land,  thus  becoming 
more  dependent  on  a  demand  for  other  kinds  of  labour; 
when  this  fails,  there  is  aggravated  suffering  from  want,  for 
the  food  supply  is  gradually  being  diminished.  The  women 
who  are  left  at  home  are  quite  unable  to  keep  the  family 
gardens  cultivated,  and  the  majority  of  the  people  are  com- 
pelled to  live  from  hand  to  mouth ;  whereas  in  former  days 
each  family  possessed  its  own  grain  stores,  their  forefathers 
having  taught  them  that  this  was  the  natural,  safe,  and 
happiest  manner  of  living.    The  adventurer  from  the  tribe 

334 


I 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


comes  back  from  the  rich  goldfields  with  fancy  blankets, 
cheap  watches,  brown-paper  boots,  common  tin  trunks,  and 
briar  pipes,  only  to  learn  in  a  few  months,  by  bitter  experi- 
ence, the  old  lesson  that  "  A  man's  happiness  does  not  con- 
sist in  the  abundance  of  things  which  he  possesses." 

It  is  now  extremely  rare  to  see  the  primitive  hand-loom 
at  work  in  a  Nyasaland  village.  The  custom  of  smelting 
iron  ore,  forging  hoes  and  axes,  is  fast  being  supplanted  by 
trade  goods  imported  in  thousands.  The  rising  generations 
know  scarcely  anything  about  woodcraft,  and  the  number  of 
curative  herbs  in  use  is  fast  decreasing. 

But  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  the  other  side.  All 
natives  are  not  like  those  whom  I  have  just  described. 
There  are  tens  of  thousands  who  have  thrown  away  many 
of  their  old  vile  customs,  and  who  are  honestly  trying  to 
move  upward  out  of  the  gloom  which  for  so  many  centuries 
has  enshrouded  their  race.  Since  Bishop  Hannington  was 
murdered  by  order  of  the  Uganda  king,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  religious  books  have  been  purchased  by  his 
subjects,  and  not  a  few  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  defence 
of  the  truths  the  martyred  Bishop  endeavoured  to  teach 
them.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Nyasaland, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  village  which  has  not  come 
under  the  influence  of  Christian  missions.  Their  Mork,  like 
that  of  all  other  human  agencies,  has  many  weak  spots,  but 
all  those  who  have  been  privileged  to  see  beneath  the  surface, 
and  who  can  bear  in  mind  the  youth  of  these  organisations, 
know  it  has  been  aptly  described  as  "  on  the  side  of  the 
angels." 

No  matter  what  our  own  private  belief  may  be,  we  are 
bound  to  recognise  the  great  work  done  by  our  fellow  country- 
men who  have  penetrated  Africa  in  order  to  preach  their  creeds, 
and  as  one  writer  has  said  : — 

"One  of  the  most  sublime  illustrations  of  consecration  to 
a  great  cause  has  been  the  fact  that  volunteers  for  missionary 

337 


INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT 


service  in  Africa  have  doubled  and  quadrupled  as  one  after 
another  of  those  who  had  previously  gone  out  laid  themselves 
down  to  die.  No  clash  of  arms  has  ever  revealed  nobler 
courage  and  fuller  persistence  of  purpose  than  modern  missions 
in  Africa.  Yet  there  may  be  something  nobler  in  carefully 
studying  the  laws  of  health  in  tropics,  and  going  there  to 
live,  rather  than  in  hazarding  life  by  ignorance,  and  going 
there  to  die.  Many  lives  might  doubtless  have  been  saved 
if  men  had  observed  the  limitation  of  African  environment; 
but  it  was  almost  inevitable  in  many  low  coast  stations  in 
the  tropics,  and  in  the  great  waterways  of  the  interior,  that 
lives  should  have  been  sacrified." 

Dr.  Scott  Keltie,  I  think,  put  the  whole  matter  of  the 
different  agencies  into  a  nutshell  when  he  said  : 

"In  the  building  up  of  our  world-wide  Empire  we  have 
no  doubt  done  many  things  which  we  ought  not  to  have 
done,  and  left  undone  many  things  which  we  ought  to  have 
done.  Yet  the  name  of  our  country  still  stands  high  among 
our  less  advanced  brothers  in  Africa,  for  many  of  those 
qualities  which  exalt  a  nation."" 


338 


CHAPTER  XX 


Traits  of  Character — Resources  of  the  Country 

A FEW  remarks  about  the  natives  may  not  be  out  of 
place  in  our  closing  chapter ;  but  let  me  say  at  once 
that  my  observations  must  not  be  taken  as  applicable 
to  all  Africans;  they  deal  exclusively  with  those  amongst 
whom  I  travelled,  and  in  the  midst  of  whom  I  lived  for 
many  years. 

Probably  no  two  persons  look  at  the  natives  from  exactly 
the  same  standpoint,  but  there  are  certain  outstanding- 
characteristics  obvious  to  all,  except  the  man  who  merely 
rushes  through  their  country  on  business  or  pleasure.  One 
writer,  I  think,  has  put  the  matter  in  a  nutshell :  "  The 
negroes  not  yet  spoiled  by  contact  with  the  slave  trade  are 
distinguished  for  friendliness  and  good  common  sense.  Some 
can  be  guilty  of  great  wickedness,  and  seem  to  think  little 
about  it.  Others  perform  actions  as  unmistakably  good 
with  no  self-complacency,  and  if  one  calculated  all  the 
good  deeds  and  all  the  bad  ones  one  came  across,  one  might 
think  them  extremely  good  or  bad,  instead  of  calling  them, 
like  ourselves,  curious  compounds  of  good  and  evil." 

They  have  been  described  as  "  selfish,  inhospitable, 
intensely  avaricious,  and  treacherous";  but  none  of  these 
adjectives  apply  to  the  people  I  have  met — not  at  least  to 
any  one  tribe  taken  collectively ;  perhaps  the  Wagogo  came 
the  nearest  to  deserving  them.  Wherever  I  have  been,  any 
man  could  have  gone,  provided  he  was  civil  and  paid  re- 
spectful deference  to  the  ordinary  rules  which  governed  the 
social  life  of  the  different  tribes.    That  they  are  highly  super- 

339 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


stitious  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Many  of  their  customs 
are  based  on  sound  principles,  but  have  been,  like  many  of 
our  own,  distorted  out  of  all  recognition.  The  ordeal  by 
poison  has  perhaps  received  a  too  sweeping  condemnation, 
for  something  of  the  kind  was  almost  a  necessity  before  we 
supplanted  it  with  Courts  of  Justice,  A  peaceful  social  life 
could  not  have  existed  without  some  means  of  obtaining  a 
decision  against  which  none  would  rebel. 

Neither  chiefs  nor  people  possessed  the  power  of  procur- 
ing witnesses  of  crime,  and  it  would  have  puzzled  our  best 
judges  to  satisfy  clamouring  plaintiffs,  half  mad  with  rage 
over  some  terrible  wrong,  when  no  proofs  of  guilt  had  been 
laid  before  them  which  would  justify  a  conviction.  Yet  an 
acquittal  was  equally  impossible.  A  simple  wave  of  the 
hand  would  by  no  means  have  dismissed  the  case ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  would  have  been  a  direct  incentive  to  fresh 
crime.  Chiefs  dared  not  permit  the  tribesmen  to  take 
law  into  their  own  hands,  and  when  it  was  impossible  to 
separate  the  truth  from  falsehood,  they  allowed  an  appeal 
to  the  only  Caesar,  viz.  the  "  poison  ordeal.^"*  To  that 
tribunal  all  rendered  absolute  submission.  No  people  can 
exist  without  a  court  of  final  appeal,  and  until  we  came 
and  set  up  the  machinery  of  our  law,  it  is  not  easy  to 
imagine  what  other  course  was  open  to  those  half-civilised 
races. 

For  honesty  they  compare  favourably  with  any  of  the 
white  races.  I  question  if  stealing,  as  a  means  of  getting  a 
living,  was  ever  known  to  them  before  our  advent.  The 
charge  of  ingratitude  may  be  dismissed  at  once,  when  we 
understand  that  the  black  man  considers  it  an  act  of  supreme 
folly  to  give  away  anything.  It  is  not  because  he  is  alto- 
gether selfish,  but  because  he  considers  it  stupid,  and  perhaps 
as  a  bribe. 

This  feeling;  will  be  better  understood  when  we  bear  in 

mind  that  they  are  practically  independent  of  each  other. 

340 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 

A  gift  seems  to  them  as  strange  a  thing  as  we  should  think 
it  if  we  saw  a  cow  pluck  up  grass  and  give  it  to  her 
companion.  And  yet  they  often  give  one  another  little 
things ;  but  it  is  treated  more  as  an  act  of  shay-ing  with  one 
another  something  which  has  by  good  luck  come  into  their 
possession,  and  to  which  some  one  else  has  a  partial  right. 
Some  people  may  be  inclined  to  call  this  Socialism.  What- 
ever name  you  give  to  it,  the  fact  remains,  and  not  a  few 
grave  errors  are  made  by  Europeans  who  fail  to  understand 
what  is  the  real  feeling  of  these  races  when  they  appear 
ungrateful  for  gifts  of  any  kind.  Personally,  I  do  not  re- 
member ever  winning  either  their  confidence  or  good  ser- 
vice except  by  justice  and  fair  recompense  for  work  done. 
Although  I  had  many  loyal,  faithful,  and  brave  servants, 
there  was  always  a  great  gulf  between  us,  and  whenever  it 
is  a  question  of  white  or  black,  they  naturally  cling  to  their 
own  colour,  no  matter  how  long  they  may  have  been  attached 
to  you. 

A  native  was  once  asked  by  his  own  master,  in  my  presence, 
whether,  in  case  of  a  rising  against  Europeans,  he  would 
kill  him,  and  he  replied  :  "  No  !  never.  But  I  would  go  over 
to  those  other  white  men  and  kill  them  if  I  could,  and  their 
boys  would  come  here  and  kill  you.''  That  is  probably 
exactly  what  would  happen  in  the  majority  of  cases.  "  We 
do  not  think  of  to-morrow,'"*  is  a  common  expression  amongst 
them  from  childhood.  It  is  "  now^  the  present."  Anticipa- 
tion is  not  in  their  case  ''half  the  pleasure  of  life." 

Dr.  Moloney,  when  attempting  to  drill  them,  was  quick 
to  observe  that  "  the  average  black  is  incapable  of  concen- 
trating his  attention  on  any  one  thing  for  more  than  a  few 
consecutive  minutes ;  his  train  of  continued  thought  is  re- 
markable for  its  brevity ;  his  memory  concerning  that  which 
the  white  man  would  have  him  remember  is  that  of  a  little 
child.  He  has  a  firmly  rooted  idea  that  medicine  is  at  the 
back  of  all  good  shooting,  and  trusts,  in  his  preliminary  stages, 

341 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 

rather  to  the  efficacy  of  an  elephant's  hair  plaited  around  the 
stock  of  his  rifle  than  to  his  own  great  physical  advantage 
of  fine  sight.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  imitative  to  a  degree, 
and  manipulates  his  rifle  well.  It  receives  an  amount  of  care 
and  solicitude  which  betokens  a  conviction  of  its  possibilities. 
He  is  a  fatalist,  and  at  his  best  makes  a  good  soldier."" 

Probably  every  pioneer  will  endorse  the  remarks  on  poly- 
gamy which  were  printed  in  a  Nyasaland  mission  paper : — 

"The  question  is  one  fruitful  of  much  debate  in  some 
circles.  In  Europe,  the  matter  as  to  the  difficulty  of  dealing 
with  polygamy  is  apt  to  be  confused  by  a  sentimental  appeal 
such  as  our  knowledge  of  African  thought  and  feeling  show 
to  be  plainly  beside  the  question.  People  at  home,  for  in- 
stance, say,  '  If  you  compel  a  polygamist  to  give  up  his  harem, 
a  cruelty  is  inflicted  on  the  discarded  wives."*  It  might  be  so 
if  the  wives  were  not  allowed  to  seek  other  husbands.  Yet 
we  know  of  no  veto  on  their  doing  this ;  while  as  to  the 
assumption  that  the  discarded  wives  will  consider  themselves 
injured,  give  themselves  up  to  despair,  or  even  deeply  grieve, 
because  a  man  who  is  father  to  their  children  no  longer  re- 
quires them  as  his  partners,  it  may  be  dismissed  as  wholly 
contrary  to  facts  as  we  meet  with  them  here.  The  generality 
of  heathen  African  women  appear  to  me  to  be  by  no  means 
unready  for  a  change  when  their  husbands  propose  separation, 
not  troubling  themselves  much  to  inquire  into  the  reason  why 
their  spouses  are  tired  of  them,  provided  they  themselves  are 
not  accused  of  unfaithfulness.  It  is  a  mistake,  certainly,  to 
suppose  that  in  heathen  marriages  in  Nyasaland  any  real  deep 
feeling  of  attachment  on  the  part  of  a  wife  towards  a  husband 
who  has  other  wives  exists  as  a  rule.  Occasionally,  it  may  be 
granted,  such  a  feeling  will  be  found ;  but  these  cases  are  the 
exceptions,  not  the  rule." 

It  is  sometimes  asked  whether  they  ever  sell  their  children 
for  gain.  We  cannot  do  better  than  quote  a  Nyasaland  mis- 
sionary of  great  experience.    He  says  : — 

342 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


"Yes!  they  do,  but  only  under  the  stress  of  famine,  or 
under  very  peculiar  circumstances.  In  the  former  case  only 
when  the  famine  is  intense,  and  then  not  to  get  filthy  lucre, 
but  to  preserve  life,  and  when  they  do  it,  leaving  a  strong 
feeling  against  the  man  who  does  it. 

"  Exceptional  circumstances,  as,  for  instance,  the  redeeming 
of  a  chief  member  of  the  clan.  Better  a  few  go  into  captivity 
than  the  head  of  the  clan  be  disgraced.  All  boys  and  mothers 
feel  the  propriety  of  this. 

"  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  without  kindred  in  this  land, 
and  as  terrible  a  thing,  in  its  degree,  to  see  your  clan  lopped 
of  its  strong  men  by  a  raid.  Another  time,  a  son  by  a  slave 
woman  was  paid  for  the  ransom  of  his  father ;  it  was  managed 
by  the  clan,  and  the  father  was  not  asked.  Better  we  all  fall 
this  day,  and  not  the  able-bodied  man. 

"There  was  also  the  system  of  giving  over  a  sister's  son 
in  pledge.  A  lawsuit  threatens  to  eat  up  a  family  already 
weakened  as  above,  by  a  raid  ;  something,  or  some  one,  must 
be  paid,  or  extremes  suffered.  A  benefactor  is  found  to  ad- 
vance an  ox  or  slave  ;  he  may  not  want  a  pledge,  but  his 
heir,  who  has  not  the  same  sympathies,  may ;  then  any  near 
relation  may  be,  and  was,  given  in  pledge  to  serve  him. 

"  Again,  any  one  was  forced  to  assent  to  giving  up  a  near 
relative  when  a  crime  had  been  committed  by  one  of  the 
family  and  this  crime  was  brought  home  to  one  amongst  them. 
This  case  is  much  the  same  as  above,  only  no  friend  in  need 
can  be  found ;  some  person  has  to  be  given  up  '  willy-nilly.' 
We  must  bear  in  mind  that,  however  degraded  a  thing  the 
sale  of  a  son  by  a  slave  may  be,  we  must  try  to  realise  the 
transaction  to  be  a  wholly  different  thing  from  saying  that 
a  man  is  devoid  of  affection  to  his  family.  Nowhere  in  all 
this  is  there  any  selling  of  a  child  '  for  a  pair  of  shoes,"*  and, 
elsewhere  than  in  Africa,  hunger  has  often  made  the  'eye 
of  a  mother  evil  towards  the  child  at  the  breast.' 

"  So  far  as  to  inhuman  conduct  to  children :  but  is  there 

343 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


room  for  any  strong  attachment,  is  there  any  romance  about 
the  family  roof- tree,  even  if  they  do  not  sell  each  other  like 
live-stock  ? 

"  Positively,  the  mother  is  more  than  willing  to  feed  her 
child,  not  only  in  childhood,  but  often  long  after;  she  is 
ready  to  fight  his  battles  against  any  one,  and  certainly  in 
most  cases  the  boy  is  the  light  of  his  mother's  eyes. 

When  the  child  goes  off"  on  a  journey,  the  mother  awaits 
his  return  anxiously;  sometimes,  it  may  be,  making  a  vow 
not  to  shave  her  head  until  he  returns ;  on  his  return,  she 
goes  through  a  wild  dance  of  joy,  often  casting  white  ash, 
or  flour,  over  herself,  and  making  a  shrill  noise :  '  Lululuta.' 
She  clasps  her  child  round  the  body,  sometimes  round 
the  neck,  herself  kneeling;  she  sees  nothing  of  onlookers, 
of  white  man,  or  steamer.  Then  she  must  be  poor  indeed 
if  she  cannot  provide  porridge  enough  for  him,  and  a  friend 
or  two.  Often  she  may  exercise  a  very  doubtful  influence 
over  her  offspring;  one  may  depreciate  the  standard  of 
affection,  but  travail,  years  of  pinching,  hoeing,  and  backache 
for  him,  do  not  issue  in  bitterness  or  estrangement;  they 
must,  to  a  certain  extent,  grace  her  with  the  rank  of  a 
mother,  even  in  the  face  of  the  civilised  world. 

"  Then  there  is  the  abandonment  in  grief  when  the  child 
dies  ;  the  long  wail  going  on  through  the  night,  the 
longing  to  look  on  the  face  of  the  dead.  It  is  a  debt 
of  sorrow,  paid  to  the  full  at  the  time,  and  then  the 
bitterness  is  a  good  deal  gone.  The  self-abandonment  is 
complete,  the  sympathy  with  death  an  effbrt  of  the  whole 
nature.  If  the  body  does  not  come  home,  then  the  solace 
of  the  mourning  is  lacking.  Often  relatives  come  in  with 
claims  for  payment,  but  the  sordid  surroundings  cannot  hide 
the  parent's  feelings. 

"The  solidarity  of  family  life  is  brought  out  when 
competitors  arise  on  the  field,  in  the  form  of  European 
offers  of  work,  or   school,  carrying   as   they  do  so  many 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


advantages.  Do  the  home  ties  vanish  like  morning  mists? 
No !  few  boys  care  to  be  away  from  home  any  length  of 
time.  I  have  never  known  a  boy  willing  to  leave  his  people 
at  the  time  of  a  funeral,  or  when  war  was  impending,  and 
the  action  of  both  men  and  boys  leaves  me  with  the  im- 
pression that,  so  far  from  their  home  life  being  a  blank  to 
them,  it  is  all  in  all,  and  very  likely  they  can  spend  years 
amidst  all  we  can  offer  of  a  parallel  kind,  and  yet  feel  it  all 
like  a  play  at  the  theatre.  The  reality  of  life  comes  in  news 
of  a  death  at  home,  a  family  quarrel,  or  a  raid — and  what 
the  man  has  been  dallying  with  ceases  to  interest  him.  '  I 
must  have  leave  on  most  important  family  business.' 

"The  same  feeling  is  there,  with  many  a  slave,  or  slave 
boy,  who  laughs  and  chatters  merrily  enough.  The  white 
men  come  and  go,  the  lad  may  have  many  a  dance  and 
many  a  journey  with  those  who  seem  near  him,  but  nothing- 
can  fill  the  place  of  his  mother,  his  mother's  brother,  his  own 
elder  brother  and  sister,  and  his  father — '  Something  that  goes 
deeper  than  his  dinner.'  " 

The  reader  may  wonder  whether,  in  this  land  of  conflicting 
religions,  there  is  any  general  belief  in  a  Creator  common  to 
most  Africans. 

Without  attempting  to  define  the  various  shades  of  their 
ideas,  I  may  say  that  they  appear  to  place  on  a  pedestal  a 
Creator  who,  to  them,  is  a  Being  gifted  with  absolute  power, 
the  Chief  of  Chiefs.  With  Him  the  inhabitants  of  earth  can 
have  no  direct  dealings.  Nothing  can  be  done  to  alter  His 
wishes;  no  sacrifice  could  bribe  Him.  He  is  both  invisible 
and  inaccessible. 

After  death,  they  imagine  the  spirits  live  in  a  world 
apart  from  the  Creator,  but  they  are  granted  certain  powers, 
which  are  exercised  for  or  against  men  on  earth,  their  good 
offices  being  obtainable,  and  their  anger  appeased,  by  sacrifice. 
Appeals  to  spirits  are  not  lightly  made,  and  are  of  a  simple 

347 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


nature,  such  as  the  placing  of  a  little  flour  near  their  graves. 
When  distressed  by  a  great  bereavement  or  other  sorrow, 
they  piteously  call  the  departed  by  name,  as  did  the  girl 
who  leaped  from  the  clilf  calling,  "  Amai !    Amai  I  " 

This  implicit  faith  in  the  good  intentions  of  departed 
spirits  made  them  criticise  the  repeated  supplications  as 
practised  in  mission  churches.  They  asked :  "  Why  do 
you  keep  on  praying  to  your  God  ?  Is  He  always  watching 
for  an  opportunity  to  inj  ure  you,  or  stop  your  rain  ?  Does 
He  get  tired  of  preventing  bad  spirits  putting  medicine  into 
your  porridge?  Our  spirits  never  sleep,  and  we  let  them 
alone  as  much  as  possible.'*'' 

I  have  never  met  an  African  agnostic,  and  some  of  the 
most  advanced  pupils  in  mission  colleges  are  known  to  cHng 
to  many  of  their  old  ideas  of  a  future  life  in  preference  to 
ours.  There  seems  no  death  in  their  creed ;  it  is  merely  a 
transformation.  The  lofty  mountain  peak  is  not  looked  on 
with  a  sense  of  awe  because  its  summit  is  lost  in  cloud-land,  but 
rather  because  it  is  the  watch-tower  of  some  departed  chiefs 
spirit.  A  massive  block  of  granite  is  not  simply  inanimate 
stone  to  them  ;  it  holds  the  still  beating  heart  and  sleepless 
eyes  of  some  dead  warrior.  The  distant  stars  are  not  balls 
of  fire,  but  the  ever-watchful  retinue  of  the  great  "  Chiuta  "''* 
(God).  Sneaking,  blood-thirsty  leopards  are  not  animals,  but 
assumed  disguises  of  evil  spirits  intent  on  drinking  blood. 

Death  ?  Annihilation  ?  It  is  as  unthinkable  to  them 
as  that  the  sun  does  not  revolve  around  the  earth.  To  tell 
them  there  is  a  Creator  adds  nothing  to  their  knowledge. 
That  they  shall  live  again !  They  treat  it  as  gratuitous 
information.  That  the  Christian'*s  God  is  a  Father  !  They 
doubt  whether  you  yourself  believe  it,  judging  by  your 
repeated  solicitations  for  His  assistance.  Tell  them  they 
are  wrong — they  ^vill  answer  that  they  had  nothing  to  do 
with  creation  and  that  they  are  children.  Endeavour  to 
impress  on  them  that  they  will  be  punished  after  death  if 

348 


TRAITS  OF  CHARACTER 


they  do  this  or  neglect  the  other,  the  invariable  reply  would 
be  :  "  Nothing  can  hurt  me  unless  the  spirits  get  permission 
from  God,  and  if  He  wished  to  kill  me  I  am  powerless." 
Attempt  to  tell  them  anything  beyond  what  they  have  always 
believed,  and  you  get  the  direct  challenge,  as  I  did — "  How 
do  you  knozo?^^  They  see  nature  is  apparently  governed, 
but  by  whom  or  what  ?  To  them  the  hand  is  invisible,  but 
nevertheless  there  all  the  time. 


Before  the  pen  is  laid  down,  some  attempt  must  be  made 
to  answer  a  question  which  naturally  arises,  for  whatever  the 
past  may  have  been,  ^ve  are  more  interested  in  the  future. 
Can  Europeans  hope  to  live  in  the  lands  I  have  been  describ- 
ing, and  rear  their  offspring  ? 

In  the  early  days  it  was  difficult ;  the  life  was  altogether  too 
rough,  necessaries  being  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Constant 
anxiety,  coupled  with  ignorance  of  what  to  use  for  the  best 
and  what  to  avoid  as  detrimental  to  health,  brought  premature 
old  age  to  many  settlers,  if  it  did  not  cause  complete  collapse. 
But  with  present-day  comforts  one  could  live  on  the  higher 
plateaux,  although  it  is  questionable  whether  our  race  would 
not  physically  deteriorate. 

There  is  no  getting  away  from  the  fact  that  the  mosquito, 
even  the  most  harmless  species,  is  a  great  nuisance  in  everyday 
life;  and,  bearing  in  mind  that  to-day  residents  in  some  of 
England's  most  beautiful  seaside  resorts  are  compelled  to  sleep 
under  mosquito-curtains,  it  seems  difficult  to  look  forward  to 
a  time  when  the  pests  will  be  eliminated  from  the  regions 
under  review. 

But  these  are  trifles,  and  cannot  stand  in  the  way  of 
progress.  The  agricultural  prospects  would  be  good  if  only 
the  means  of  transport  were  improved.  At  present  it  is  so 
expensive  that  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  invest  too  much  capital 
in  agi'icultural  ventures  far  removed  from  the  coast,  especially 
as  the  price  of  labour  is  tending  upwards. 

349 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


So  far  as  Nyasaland  is  concerned,  the  country  is  nearly  out 
of  the  running,  on  account  of  the  want  of  railway  communica- 
tion with  the  coast.  There  is  a  small  railway  commencing  up- 
country  near  the  junction  of  British  and  Portuguese  territory, 
and  running  up  as  far  as  Blantyre  in  the  Shire  Highlands,  but 
this  is  simply  playing  with  the  country.  It  is  astonishing  that 
John  Bull  has  not  long  ago  ordered  the  railway  to  be  con- 
structed up  to  Lake  Nyasa  and  down  to  Beira,  or  negotiated 
with  Portugal  for  its  extension  to  Quelimane,  with  a  lease  of 
the  port,  to  the  financial  benefit  of  both  countries.  If  Nyasa- 
land is  ever  to  become  a  valuable  asset  to  the  Empire,  the 
railway  ought  at  once  to  be  constructed;  otherwise,  from  a 
financial  point  of  view,  there  seems  no  alternative  but  to  turn 
the  whole  population  into  labourers  for  the  northern  and 
southern  mines.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  which  will  pay 
best  in  the  long  run,  and  I  hope  the  casting  vote  will  be  given 
to  the  building  up  of  a  solid  foundation  on  agriculture ;  but 
this  can  only  be  accomplished  by  connecting  the  plantations 
with  some  coast  port. 

So  far  I  have  said  nothing  about  minerals,  which  are 
known  to  exist  in  large  quantities,  e,g.  limestone,  coal,  iron, 
graphite,  and  galena.  Gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones  have  been 
found  in  small  quantities,  but  the  general  geological  formation 
of  Nyasaland  is  not  attractive.  I  cannot  forget  the  immense 
sandstone  deposits  at  South  Tanganyika,  traversed  by  quartz 
veins,  and  I  have  always  regretted  not  having  had  time  to  pro- 
spect for  gold  in  that  region,  as  it  seemed  a  most  attractive  field 
for  geological  study,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  we  may  not 
have  another  Band  not  far  from  the  Lofu  Biver.^  But  this 
is  speculative,  and  I  must  not  pursue  the  fascinating  subject. 

The  basins  containing  the  great  lakes  are  gradually  filling  up 
with  debris  washed  down  by  the  torrential  rains,  but  it  must 
take  centuries  to  reduce  those  inland  seas  to  long  river-courses. 

I  have  designedly  refrained  from  touching  on  the  pheno- 
^  Since  this  was  written  the  Abercorn  gold  reefs  have  been  discovered. 

350 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


menal  advance  made  in  the  East  African  Protectorate  and 
Uganda,  as  they  are  countries  through  which  I  have  not 
travelled ;  but  I  know  enough  of  them  to  be  sure  that  each 
would  require  a  separate  volume  to  do  it  justice,  and  the 
writer  should  be  one  of  the  old  brigade  who  lived  in  the  days 
of  Mack  ay. 

We  must  grapple  successfully  with  the  sleeping  sickness, 
if  we  are  to  save  some  of  the  African  races  from  extinction, 
and  to  preserve  the  enormous  labour  supply  which  is  so 
necessary  to  the  country  during  its  early  competition  with 
the  open  markets  of  the  world.  As  the  great  Mitamba 
forests  are  attacked  by  our  woodmen  in  search  of  pulp 
to  supply  the  ever-increasing  demand  for  paper,  and  the 
equatorial  backbone  of  Africa  yields  up  its  untold  mineral 
wealth,  not  only  its  own  internal  labour  supply  will  be  re- 
quired, but  the  Chinaman,  the  Japanese,  and  the  Indian 
will  swarm  to  the  busy  heart  of  a  too  long  dead  continent. 
Then  will  those  mighty  streams,  the  Nile  and  the  Congo, 
bear  down  to  the  ocean  flotillas  carrying  ebony,  teak,  and 
mahogany  from  the  present  haunts  of  the  Pigmies  and  the 
lordly  elephant.  The  "Darkest  Africa"  of  Stanley  will 
export  its  millions  of  tons  of  vegetable  and  mineral  oil, 
rubber,  ground-nuts,  millet,  rice,  cotton,  sugar,  coftee,  corn, 
spices,  fibres,  tobacco,  and  a  host  of  other  valuable  products, 
long  after  the  supply  of  ivory,  that  old  curse  of  the  land, 
has  ceased  to  exist;  and  European  politicians  already  born 
may  be  called  upon  to  regulate  an  ever-increasing  flow  of 
wealth  to  this  country  from  the  land  which,  but  yesterday, 
was  shrouded  in  gloom  and  sorrow,  where  the  hideous  slave 
trade  set  every  man"'s  hand  against  his  brother,  and  life  was 
little  better  than  a  living  death. 

The  Hebrew  prophet  spoke  of  "  a  nation  born  in  a  day," 
and  we  instinctively  turn  our  eyes  eastwards.  May  we  not 
look  nearer  home  to  what  is  no  longer  "Dark  Africa,"  but 
a  land  we  know,  and  whose  possibilities  make  us  shudder 

351 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


as  we  think  of  the  driving  force  now  being  generated,  and 
beginning  to  be  applied  at  every  point  of  its  social 
economy  ? 

A  hush  seems  to  pervade  a  congregation  of  men  and 
women  in  this  land  who  think  of  Africa,  when  one  asks: 
What  of  the  race  problem?  White  or  black?  Which 
wins?  The  blacks  are  thronging  to  the  mines,  where  they 
compete  with  white  labour,  abandoning  their  natural  and 
healthy  occupation  of  agriculture.  What  will  become  of 
the  native  races  under  these  new  conditions?  Will  they 
dwindle  and  decay,  like  the  Maori  and  the  Red  Indians? 

And  what  is  to  become  of  the  land  which  they  are 
ceasing  to  cultivate,  and  of  the  far  larger  tracts  which  they 
have  never  cultivated  ?  Countless  numbers  of  wild  animals 
gallop  over  millions  of  acres  of  silent  forest  land  in  Africa, 
which  yields  not  an  ounce  of  food  for  the  human  race,  or 
contributes  a  penny  towards  the  administration  of  the  Pro- 
tectorate. 

Could  we  not  encourage  men  from  our  own  country  to 
go  in  and  possess  these  lands,  the  only  title-deed  required 
being  a  pair  of  willing  hands  and  capital  to  develop  industry  ? 
Would  it  not  be  wise  to  open  these  doors  as  wide  as  possible 
to  the  manhood  of  our  overcrowded  towns?  It  is  not  so 
much  the  attention  of  the  Revenue  Collector  and  Surveyor 
which  is  appreciated  by  young  planters,  as  the  encouraging 
assistance  of  a  sympathetic  Governor  whose  interest  in  each 
separate  empire-builder's  little  try  is  felt  to  be  as  keen  as 
his  love  of  sport.  If  every  possible  inducement  is  given  to 
good  men  to  settle  around  the  great  lakes,  our  Protectorates 
will  the  sooner  become  a  valuable  asset  to  the  old  country, 
worth  treble  the  amount  received  from  it  during  the  early 
stages  of  their  childhood. 

We  cannot  afford  to  waste  time.    Are  we  not  called  on 

to  act  as  well  as  think  in  continents  ?    If  there  still  remain 

slave  chains  in  any  portion  of  Africa,  there  are  willing  hands 

352 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


ready  to  snap  them.  It  matters  nought  if  there  exist  a 
thousand  counterparts  of  Tip-pu-Tib,  there  are  not  wanting 
men  and  women  who  will  show  them  "  rain-clouds in  the 
sky.  We  know  the  age  of  romance,  courage,  and  adventure 
did  not  pass  away  with  the  Crusaders.  Would  not  some  of 
the  people  who  dash  along  our  roads  in  motor-cars  just  as 
readily  kneel  down  in  a  dirty  African  village  by  the  side  of 
a  black  maiden,  and  stitch  up  her  lacerated  breast,  if  there 
was  no  one  else  to  do  it  for  her,  and  no  one  to  see  them 
do  it? 

What  may  seem  too  like  a  lack  of  commercial  enterprise 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  when  one  sees  British  officers 
and  troops  transported  from  one  African  Protectorate  to 
another  under  a  foreign  flag,  because  one  British  company 
after  another  cannot  make  its  steamers  pay  against  the  com- 
petition of  a  foreign  line  subsidised  by  a  foreign  government. 

Cannot  my  countrymen  realise  that  the  commercial  invasion 
on  terra-firma  and  ocean  highways  is  an  accomplished  fact, 
whilst  the  aerial  one  is  a  theory  ?  Did  we  sweep  the  hordes 
of  Rugaruga  out  of  those  thorny  stockades,  and,  in  isolation, 
fight  malaria  and  poisoned  arrows  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
in  order  that  some  other  nation  might  establish  markets  for 
their  manufacturers  ? 

If  at  home  there  is  fear  of  our  national  glory  departing, 
there  is  none  away  yonder  under  the  Southern  Cross  from 
snow-clad  Ruenzori  peaks  to  the  ocean.  From  every  canvas 
tent,  every  mud  hut,  forest  camp,  and  swamp,  pioneers  of 
civilisation  send  words  of  cheer  back  to  the  home  land.  If 
they  are  handicapped  by  the  ravages  of  fever,  they  fight  on, 
thinking  only  of  a  one-armed  man  who  triumphed  at  Trafalgar. 
When  the  oppression  of  an  isolated  life  makes  the  heart  tired, 
they  think  of  the  lonely  traveller  who,  year  after  year,  plodded 
on  and  on,  always  penetrating  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
great  unknown,  and  at  last,  worn  out  by  disease  amongst  the 
marshes  of  Bangweolo,  knelt  down  by  his  bedside,  surrounded 

353  T 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COUNTRY 

by  none  but  black  men,  and  died  with  his  face  to  the  goal. 
The  picture  cheers  them  up,  and  the  Cape  Express,  thundering 
across  the  Zambezi,  tells  them  that  "  Africa's  open  sore  "  has 
been  healed  in  British  dominions,  and  David  Livingstone's 
appeal  answered. 

Yes,  indeed !  answered  far  beyond  his  loftiest  flights  of 
faith.  An  upright  magistracy  and  honest  officials  have  sup- 
planted the  poison  ordeal  and  slave  chain.  Laughter,  dance, 
and  song  make  the  evenings  welcomed  by  ten  thousands  of 
young  Africans,  who  in  the  old  hideous  times  were  compelled 
to  restrain  their  youthful  desire  to  burst  into  merriment  as 
the  sun  set,  and  forced  to  creep  away  in  terror  out  of  the 
reach  of  unseen  enemies. 

It  was  all  work  worth  doing.  Old  memories  of  fever, 
fatigue,  isolation  from  cultured  companionship  with  kith  and 
kin,  do  not  count.  What  does  count  is  the  echo  of  children's 
voices  which  the  waves  often  bring  to  me  as  I  sit  on  the  sea- 
beach,  echoes  of  merry  ringing  laughter,  and  the  rhythmic 
beating  of  distant  village  drums.  These  sounds  are  inaudible 
to  the  holiday  crowd  passing  along  the  parade.  They  are 
vibrations  which  can  only  be  caught  by  an  ear  which,  long 
ago,  listened  to  the  cry  of  black  men  and  tried  to  answer  it. 
To  my  comrades  still  in  the  field  I  repeat  the  farewell  of  that 
British  sailor  at  Zanzibar  in  1882—"  So  long  ! " 


354 


INDEX 


A 

Africa,  the  geography  of,  20 
African  humour,  26 

 travel,  fascination  of,  44 

Agricultural  products  of  the  Warundi, 
222 

Agriculture  and  transport,  349 
Albert  Edward  Nyanza,  the,  221 
Alexandria,  bombardment  of,  21 
Alston,  Lieut.,  312 
Amambwi,  the,  116 
Ancestor  worship,  208 
Angoni,  the,  61,  135,  280 

 Indaba,  an,  301 

Antelopes,  145 

Ants,  ferocious,  106 

Arab  system  of  slave-raiding,  62 

Arabs,  courtesy  of  the,  245 

 hostility  of  the,  81 

 and  Germans,  157 

Aruwimi  River,  the,  180 

Ashe,  Mr.,  22 

Awemba,  the,  89,  119,  256 

B 

Baba  Daud  and  Bula  Matali,  75 
Baby,  a  deserted  Walungu,  193 
Bachelors'  quarters,  123 
Barthelot,  174 

Bu-okets  for  catching  fish,  304 
Belgian  officers  on  the  Congo,  180 
Belgians  and  Arabs,  242 
Big-game  hunting,  291 
Birds,  aquatic,  of  the  Rusizi  River, 
232 

 of  Lake  Tanganyika,  232, 

217 


Bitumen  at  Ujiji,  79 

Blake,  Mr. ,  Dutch  missionary,  301 

Blantyre,  136 

 transformed,  330 

Boiling  springs,  207 
Boots,  natives  and  the  white  man's,  42 
Boyce,  Dr.,  murder  of,  315 
Breaking  the  twig,  a  sign  of  friend- 
ship, 161 

Brooks,  Arthur,  and  his  murderer, 
39,  165 

Buffalo,  escape  from  an  enraged,  61 
Buganda,  the,  and  Bp.  Hannington,  20 
Bush,  hunting  in  the,  58 
Bushbuck  fighting,  145 

C 

Cannibal,  a,  222 

Canoes,  77 

Cape  to  Cairo,  242 

 telegraph,  278 

Cash,  African  equivalent  for,  25 
"  Cat's-cradle,"  the  game  of,  283 
Cathedral, a  beautiful,native-built,  327 
Chambezi  River,  the,  122 
Character,  an  analysis  of  the  native, 
339 

Characteristics  of  the  natives,  31 
Charms,  belief  in,  67 
"  Chikote  "  or  hide  whip,  84 
Chikusi,  143 

Children,  education  of,  289 

 parental  feeling  towards,  343 

Children's  games,  283 
Chunyo,  53 
Climate,  122 

Coast  and  Interior,  people  of  the, 
compared,  40 


INDEX 


Coffee,  cultivation  of,  329 
Commercial  enterprise,  lack  of,  353 
Congo,  Belgian  officers  on  the,  180 

 State  officials,  the,  245 

Cotton-growing,  331 
Creator,  belief  in  a,  847 
Crocodiles,  a  conjuror  of,  229 

  quartz  found  in  the  stomach 

of,  226 

Currency,  past  and  present,  328 
D 

Dance,  an  impromptu,  250 
Delimitation  negotiations,  316 
Developing  the  land,  need  for,  352 
Dineen,  Dr.,  107 

Disease  amongst  the  Walungu,  198 
Doctor  and  the  lion,  291 
"Domestic  slaves,"  40 
Duel,  a,  108 

Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the,  304 
D'zeoli,  301 

E 

Earthquake  shocks,  208 

Eclipse  of  the  moon,  an,  297 

Educational  successes,  275 

Elephants,  143  ;  an  invasion  by,  120  ; 
hunting,  292  ;  shooting,  307  ;  de- 
structive, 318 

Elmslie,  Dr.,  influence  of,  280 

Emin  Pasha,  180 

F 

"Father  David,"  141 
Fauna  of  the  Rusizi  neighbourhood, 
233 

Fetish  heaps,  69 

Fish,  baskets  for  catching,  304 

Food,  the  necessity  for  good,  32 

Forest,  the  African,  45 

Fort  Maguire,  300 

Fotheringham,    defender  of  Wan- 

konde,  277 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  men,  tact 

of  the,  281 
Future  life,  belief  in  a,  347 


C 

Game  and  sport,  77,  89,  95,  122 

 pits,  danger  from,  187 

Games,  children's,  283 
Geographical  problems,  154 
Germans  in  Africa,  the,  157 
Gifts,  how  regarded  by  the  natives, 

341 
Giraffes,  167 

Gold-fields,  labour  in  the,  324 

Goma  Mountains,  70 

Good     News,    building    the,     90 ; 

launch,  102 
Gordon  of  Uganda,  22 
Graphite,  212 

H 

Hammock,  travelling  by,  150 
Hannington,  Bishop,  22 
Hartebeeste  hunting,  41 
Hippopotamus,  hunting  the,  110,  205 
Hoes,  native-made,  222 
Honey,  212 

Hore,  Captain,  19,  54,  57  ;  Mrs.  H.,  22 
 and  the  scenery  of  Lake  Tangan- 
yika, 215 
Hunting  in  the  bush,  59 

I 

Images,  wooden,  127,  208 

Indaba,  an, 189 

Industrial  development,  323 

Industries  about  Tanganyika,  212 

Infant  mortality,  319 

Insect  life,  32 

Iron  ore,  deposits  of,  212 

 wire  as  a  currency,  222 

 work  amongst  the  Warundi,  226 

Itawa  Arabs,  the,  255 
Ivory,  the  value  of,  49,  75  ;  and 
slaves,  76,  179,  221 

J 

Jacques,  Captain,  180,  245 
Jellyfish  in  Lake  Tanganyika,  215 


INDEX 


Johnston,  Sir  Harry,  21,  191,  203,  242 
Johnstone  and  the  elephant,  292 

K 

Kabatawe  and  the  hippopotamus, 

101 ;  and  the  slave-raider,  102^ 
Kabunda,  191 

Kakungu,  259  ;  capture  of,  269 
Karema,  French  station    of,   105 ; 

attacked  by  natives  at,  204 
Karonga,  135 

Kavala  Island,  our  base  at,  88 

Keltie,  Dr.  Scott,  338 

Kidd,  James,  and  the  game  pit,  187 

Kilangozi  or  leader,  a,  41 

Kirk,  Sir  John,  23 

Kitimbwa,  Chief  of  the  Walunga, 

95,  189 
Kitimkuru,  Chief,  119 
Kotakota,  135 
Kwakvra  River,  the,  150 

L 

Lady  Nyasa,  the,  135 

Lake  Kiwa,  233 

Law  wounded,  266 

Law  Courts,  the  work  of  the,  321 

Laws,  Dr.,  influence  of,  280 

Leopards,  attacked  by,  235 

Leza  or  the  Creator,  208 

Licence  for  big-game  hunting,  318 

Likoma  Island,  295 

Lions,  65 ;  and  the  Walungu  curse, 
201  ;  attacking  tents,  281  ;  hunting, 
291  ;  at  Kotakota,  299,  317 

"  and  leopards,"  the  game  of,  283 

Livingstone  and  the  slave-trade,  50  ; 
and  Stanley,  70 

 Mrs.,  grave  of,  148 

Lofu  River,  the,  89,  191 

London,  H.M.S.,  23,  30 

Luapula  River,  the,  314 

Lusigi  River,  the,  70 

M 

Makanjira  and  Mponda,  135,  300 
Malagarasi  River,  the,  68 


Malaria  and  mosquitoes,  33 
Mamba  snake,  the,  147 
Mamboia,  attack  of  fever  at,  45 
Man-eater,  a,  299 
Manna,  116 

Manyema,  the,  180 ;  as  cannibals, 

243 

Maples,  death  of  Bishop,  309 
Marine  fauna  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  79 
Marriage  customs  of  the  "VValungu, 
194 

Masai,  an  encounter  with,  158 
Matches,  natives  and  the,  43 
Medical    impostors    and   hona  fide 

practitioners,  107 
"  Medicine,"  67,  91,  102 

 white  man's,  163 

 men,  influence  of,  127 

Mfiti  or  cannibal,  128,  225 
Mgunda-Mkali  Wilderness,  the,  56 
Minerals  in  Nyasaland,  331,  350 
Mirambo,  the  great,  58,  61 
Missions,  work  done  by  the,  337 
Mkambi,  53 

Mlozi  and  Jumbe,  87,  135,  300;  cap- 
ture of,  311 

Moffat,  Mary,  332 

Moir,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred,  90,  204 

Monkey,  a  mischievous,  250 

Monsoons  on  Lake  Tanganyika,  237 

Moore,  death  of,  216 

Morambala  mountain,  143 

Morning  Star,  the,  transport  of, 
25,  85 

Mosquitoes  and  malaria,  33,  137,  349 
Mourning,  signs  of  genuine,  106 
Mpezeni,  Chief,  269,  315 
Mponda,  135 
M'pwapwa,  48 
Msakambewa,  301 
Music,  African,  33 
Mwasi,  300,  311 

N 

Native  character,  insight  into,  46 

  chiefs,  official  treatment  of, 

279 


INDEX 


Native  industries  and  imported  goods, 
337 

Natives,  the,  how  they  are  spoiled, 
336 

Noses,  a  difference  of,  287 
Nugget  from  Ujiji,  a,  211 
Nyanza,  Emin  Pasha  at,  183 
Nyasa,  Lake,  122 

Nyasaland,  devastation  of,  277 ; 
rapid  progress  of,  329  ;  natural 
products  of,  351 


P 

Packing  for  transport,  25 
Palm-oil,  211 
Parental  affection,  344 
Pearl  mussels,  222 

Penalties  amongst  the  Amambwi, 
119 

Pioneer,  the  protection  of,  187 
Poison  ordeal,  128,  340 
Polygamy,  342 
Porters,  African,  25,  35 
Postcard,  the  first,  to  Cairo,  312 
Presents,  attitude  of  the  African  as 

regards,  226 
"Prisoner's  base"  in  the  water,  284 
Products,  natural,  of  Nyasaland,  351 
Puff-adder,  death  from  the  bite  of 

a,  146 
Pulley,  Lieut.,  90 
Punch  as  a  literary  tonic,  29 

Q 

Quelimane,  150 

R 

Railways,  the,  329 

 want  of,  350 

Ramakukane,  141 

Rees,  Miss,  of  the  Universities  Mis- 
sion, 296 
Regatta,  an  African,  218 
Religious  progress,  337 


Revenge,  an  act  of,  253 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  312,  323 

Roxburgh,  James,  105 

Rugaruga  bullies,  96,  178 

Ruiche  River,  the,  73 

"  Rule  of  the  Road,  the,"  41 

Rumaliza,  75;  character  of,  87,  169, 

180,  204 ;  and  the  Belgians,  242  ; 

death  of  his  wife,  270 
Rusavia,  Chief,  233 
Rusizi  River,  the,  212,  232 


S 

Saadani,  the  head-man  of,  39 

Saidi  Mwazungu,  treachery  of,  282, 

291,  300.  311 
Salisbury,  Lord,  and  the  Cape  to  Cairo 

route,  242 
Salt,  212 

Salving  a  swamped  boat,  240 
Sangala,  a  large  fish,  77,  188 
Seine-fishing,  77 

Shellfish  and  shrimps  in  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika, 215 
Shire  Highlands,  the,  279 

 River,  135 

 Valley,  the,  319 

Shupanga,  147 

Sickness,  how  it  is  regarded,  249 
Simm,  Arthur  Fraser,  310 
Slave-raiding,  organised,  62 

  trade,  cruelties  of  the,  21,  48, 

98 

Snakes,  145 
Spirit-houses,  69 
Spirits,  the  belief  in,  347 
Sponges  in  Lake  Tanganyika,  215 
Stairs,  Lieut.,  and  the  sangala,  188 
Stanley  and  Tip-pu-tib,  173 

the  "  Stone-breaker,"  75 
Steel  boat,  building  the,  82 
Stevenson  Road,  the,  122 
Stockades,  65 
Stokes,  Charles,  153 
Storm  on  Lake  Tanganyika,  88 
Storming  a  stockade,  261 
Storms,  Captain,  179 


INDEX 


Sultan  Jumbe,  135,  291 
Surgery,  native,  107 
Swamped  in  Lake  Tanganyika,  237 
"Swollen  heads,"  334 


T 

Tanga,  legend  of  the  man  from,  78 

Tanganyika,  first  view  of,  73;  legend 
of,  78  ;  area  of,  79 ;  marine  fauna, 
79,  215  ;  tribes  about,  80 ;  a  storm 
on,  88 ;  industries  about,  212 ; 
scenery,  215  ;  waterspouts,  237 

Tattoo  marks,  221 

Taxes,  319 

Telegraph  from  Cape  to  Cairo,  323 
Telephone,  a  primitive,  283 
Tip-pu-tib,  75  ;  character  of,  86,  171 
Tobacco  growing,  221,  331 
Tom,  tragic  death  of,  91 
Transport,  the  difficulties  of,  29 
Treaty-making,  191 
Trees  and  creepers,  211 
Tribal  laws,  289 

 spear,  breaking  a,  304 

Tribes  about  Tanganyika,  80 
Trivier,  Captain,  185 
Twins  and  taxes,  320 


U 

Ujiji,  importance  of,  73,  75,  168 
Unyamwezi,  the,  58,  61 
Unyanyembe,  62 


V 

Vegetation,  44 
Vicenti,  150 

W 

Wafipa,  the,  98,  248 

Wagogo,  greed  of  the,  56  ;  and  the 

Germans,  178;  character  of,  339 
Wajiji,  the,  76 

Walungu,  the,  89,  189 ;  calamity  to, 
192  ;  tuition  of  girls,  193  ;  marriage 
customs,  194;  curse,  201 

Wankonde,  the,  122 ;  annihilation  of, 
277,  312 

Wanyamwezi,  the,  as  porters,  25 

Wa'nyika,  legend  of  the,  78 

Warundi,  the,  221 

Wasakumu,  153 

Waterspouts  on  Lake  Tanganyika, 

89,  237 
Watusi,  the,  222 
Wavinza,  the,  68 
Wax,  212 

Wazigi  Tribe,  the,  221 
Whitebait,  205 

Wissmann,  Major  Von,  50,  120,  178 
Witch- finder,  a,  133 

Y 

Yao  Chief,  280 

Yule,  James,  the  pioneer  and  hunter 
262 

Z 

Zambezi,  the,  144 

Zanzibar  and  the  slave-trade,  22 

Zarafi,  300 


THE  END 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson,  Co 
Edinburgh  <^  London 


Date  Due 

rim 

